Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign centre-back Modou Keba Cisse from Austrian side LASK. The reported fee is in the region of €5 million. The 19-year-old is expected to remain at LASK on loan for the upcoming season.
#AVFC have agreed a deal to sign defender Modou Kéba Cisse from LASK. Worth €5m & 19yo set to be loaned back. Part of recruitment drive to target young, overseas players in the low millions. Sil Swinkels to depart on loan this eve. After @SkySportAustriahttps://t.co/djArrvSvnH
— Jacob Tanswell (@J_Tanswell) July 17, 2025
Who is Modou Keba Cisse?
Cisse plays as a centre-back, coming through Be Sport Academy, a club based in Senegal. He moved to Spanish side Real Avila before joining LASK in July last year. Last season he made his debut in February, going onto make 13 appearances in the Austrian league, including 7 starts and 1 goal. In total he has played 659 minutes for LASK.
Villa's Young Recruitment Strategy
To comply with the financial rules, that seems to work against clubs looking to break into the "Big 6" such as Villa, Newcastle and Forest, Villa have imposed a sustainable strategy in order to make profit in seasons to come or have some very talented players at the club. Targeting unknown players in the 18-21 age range from abroad for low-fees enables Villa to develop and grow players and potentially sell them on for profit if they don't make it to the first-team.
In the last year, Villa have signed 18-year-old Serbian Kosta Nedeljkovic, who is currently on loan at RB Leipzig for this season with a buy option that if triggered would provide Villa with around £4 million+ profit, baring in mind he has only made 10 appearances in all competitions.
Andres Garcia is another name, who at the time of signing for a low-fee was 21-years-old and has made 10 appearances in all competitions for Villa. He looks like a promising prospect who is likely to stay around the first-team this season, however should Villa decide to move him on at the start of the next season, then he would be another that provides profit.
The recent signings of 19-year-old Yasin Ozcan and 20-year old Yeimar Mosquera who were again signed for low-fees will no doubt be carefully monitored in pre-season by Unai Emery before deciding whether they should stick around the first-team for this season or head out on loan.
This is a clever recruitment strategy used by Villa, as many of these signing will have significant potential and could break into the first-team and become key players. However, should they miss the cut, they can be sold on for higher fees than what they were signed for which will certainly aid Villa in complying with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) in future seasons.
