According to HITC Sport, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers are alongside newly-promoted Brighton and Hove Albion in the race to sign highly-rated winger Jamie Hopcutt from Swedish outfit Ostersunds FK. 

Born in York, Hopcutt started his career in England with his hometown club but failed to make an appearance before making the move to Sweden in 2012.

Since his arrival at Ostersunds FK, the 25-year-old has made 109 appearances for the Swedish club, finding the back of the net on 38 occasions.

He has already caught the eye of the Championship sides, along with Chris Hughton's promoted charges with a solo strike from the substitutes bench as Ostersunds stunned Turkish giants Galatasaray earlier this week, condemning them to a 2-0 defeat.

The report suggests that a deal could be worth around £1.5m, very much within budget for both Championship sides.

Villa have shown themselves capable of affording former Chelsea captain John Terry's wages, while Nuno Santo's Wolves have broken the Championship transfer record with their shock swoop for young Porto midfielder Ruben Neves.

An added bonus is that the Allsvenskan - the Swedish top flight - is already in full flow, so Hopcutt should not need pre-season to get up to speed and that ability to hit the ground running is likely to impress Hughton, Bruce and Santo.

The Midlands sides will be hoping that their ambitious plans to get back into the top flight prove more tempting to the Englishman than the prospect of Europa League football next season.

Villa fans - would you want Hopcutt at Villa Park next season? Wolves fans - would you like to make the midfielder the next arrival, adding to your host of new signings so far? Let us know in the comments below...