A reported £117m fee means that the new Blues man now becomes the second-most expensive British transfer in history, only behind Liverpool's purchase of Alexander Isak.
Villa have £100m+ burning a hole in their pocket
For Villa, they're casting their eyes towards Merseyside, but to the blue rather than the red half.
Everton's James Garner has long been a target of the Midlands-based outfit, though the 25-year-old only recently put pen to paper on a new deal with the Toffees that ties him to the club until 2030.
However, when you've got over £100m burning a hole in your pocket and can offer the temptation of Champions League football, it's little wonder that the Villans reportedly feel confident in being able to prise the former Man Utd ace to Villa Park.
Having lost Youri Tielemans to the Red Devils, too, it's obvious why Emery sees shoring up the midfield as a major priority before the start of the 2026/27 campaign.
Everton are "relaxed" about Garner interest
Everton reportedly remain "relaxed" about the situation, and as of this moment, there isn't anything for them to worry about, given that an official bid for Garner's services hasn't been made.
Should one be forthcoming, however, it would put the cat amongst the pigeons, because Everton will understand that they'd be losing a class act if Garner were to be persuaded by Villa's overtures.
He played in and started every game for the Toffees in 2025/26, and with 3,714 cumulative minutes played, no other Everton player was on the pitch for longer.
Seven assists provided were the most in the squad, and though his three goals were never going to trouble the Premier League's top scorer table, they were still the fifth-best output at the club last season.
Most chances created, most passes attempted and completed
As if to further evidence his importance, 59 chances created and 2059 passes attempted, with 1,818 completed (for a pass completion stat of 88.3%), were all the best that any Everton player could manage in 25/26.
Dynamic when getting forward, he attempted 77 crosses, though only 18 found their target. His subsequent 23.38% completion could therefore be improved upon, but it was still the third-best showing from a Toffees perspective.
Garner's driving runs from midfield set the tempo for Everton in a number of games, with his desire, will to win, and physicality helping him to recover possession on no less than 202 occasions last season.
Only James Tarkowski won more than Garner's 225 one-on-one duels, and just 18 headed duels lost from 48 attempted is yet another stat for the midfielder to be proud of.
Most tackles made and won
Ditto his tackling output. 131 attempted is almost double that of every other Everton player, and his 78 tackles won are, yet again, the most in the squad.
Very simply, when Garner plays well, he oils the wheels, and the rest of the team follows suit.
Thankfully, he was readily available throughout last season to help spearhead his club's charge for a European place, a race that was ultimately unsuccessful.
Were he absent for any length of time, Everton's European aspirations would have been over long before the end of the season, and it's another reason why Moyes and his board can't even contemplate allowing Garner to move on.
Money talks
He's yet to reach his supposed peak as a player, and Everton have already tied him down to that period of his career, so they have to do everything as a club to ensure that his head isn't turned by Villa or anyone else.
Of course, as everyone is well aware, money talks in football, and if Villa do come forward with a clearly beneficial offer to club or player, then it's going to be incredibly difficult for either to turn down.
For Garner, he will have the opportunity to test himself against the best that Europe has to offer, whilst for the Toffees, they'd be able to strengthen significantly in various areas of the squad.
With six weeks or so left in the transfer window, there's plenty of time for a deal to be done, so Everton will have to wait and see as to whether they really can offer the midfielder something worth staying for.