AFC Bournemouth are demanding £20m for striker Josh King as Aston Villa line up a swoop for the 28-year-old, as per Football Insider.

Dean Smith's Villa side are looking to strengthen their attacking line after a goal-shy 2019/20 campaign which saw their strikers fail to consistently deliver goals.

Jason Tindall's Bournemouth side have already let go of several of their key assets following their relegation to the Championship, with Nathan Ake leaving for Manchester City and Callum Wilson departing for Newcastle United.

King is in the final year of his contract at the Vitality Stadium and the Cherries are likely going to want to sell him this summer, instead of letting him leave on a free transfer next year.

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The Villans have not submitted a bid as of yet for the Norwegian international, though have now been informed by the south coast club how much it is going to take to sign the striker.

King scored six goals and provided four assists for the Cherries last season, in what was a disappointing return in comparison to his form in the 2018/19 season, where he notched 12 goals and recorded three assists.

Football Insider report that Ollie Watkins is also being pursued by the Villans, but Brentford's valuation of the attacker is putting them off as it stands.

The verdict

For Aston Villa, I've said all summer that Ollie Watkins should be their number one target and they should be open to spending that bit more on the player.

King offers a proven solution for the Villans and for £20m it's a fairly good deal, but his goalscoring output last season is a bit of a concern considering Villa's urgent need for goals up-top.

As for Bournemouth, they hold the upper hand here and you cannot blame them for forcing as much money for some of their prized assets as they look to re-coup some of the losses that relegation from the Premier League brings.