Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard vows to be 'patient' in his pursuit of Brighton star Yves Bissouma

Aston Villa will reignite their interest in Brighton and Hove Albion's best midfielder Yves Bissouma this summer.

Villa had an initial offer of around £30m for the Mali international rejected by Brighton in last month's window but Steven Gerrard remains determined to land the 25-year-old powerhouse.

Bissouma was in top form for Albion last Saturday on his return from the Afcon and was easily the best player in the Brighton team as they suffered a 3-1 loss in the FA Cup.

It underlined Bissouma's status as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and highlighted why Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United have all expressed their interest.

The midfielder - who joined Brighton from Lille in 2018 for £15m - will have 12 months left on his contract in July.

"It was well documented that we put in a bid for Bissouma at Brighton which was turned away, and we respected and appreciated that," Gerrard said yesterday.

"If a move is not right then we will not become desperate and make decisions that we do not think is right.

"If it's not right at the time we might have to be patient in a few situations.

"The window [for Villa] was extremely strong. There were areas that we needed to find solutions for us to be stronger and better.

"We got 90 to 95 per cent of business done that we wanted to get done in the window. I'm delighted with the support from the board."

Villa were busy in the transfer window last month as they added Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona on loan, Lucas Digne from Everton in a £25 million deal and Arsenal defender Calum Chambers.

Brighton however are under no pressure to sell their top talents and head coach Graham Potter is keen to keep his star man for as long as possible.

"Absolutely (it is important to keep Bissouma) I have spoken about this a lot and there is always speculation," said Potter.

"As a club we are quite strong we don't have to sell anybody but we also know selling players helps us improve as a club.

"It is important he is with us and he is enjoying his football. While he is doing that it is great for us and good for him."

But when is the right time for Brighton to part with player of Bissouma's ability?

"Football decides that, it is not me," said Potter.

"Like Ben, we can speak all we want but if someone wants to pay that money then that's football deciding that, not me. "It's not me talking, or Tariq [Lamptey] talking, or Adam Webster, or Leo Trossard talking or Rob Sanchez talking or anybody, you have to play and do well.

"Then who knows. We are not Real Madrid, we are not buying people and we know where we are in the pyramid.

"Now we have to develop a team that is competitive and that our supporters are proud of."