Aston Villa have been linked with a move for centre half Jhon Lucumi, the Colombian international who plays for Italian side Bologna. Lucumi, 26, has reportedly attracted interest from Premier League pair Villa, who are after another centre half this summer after the loan spell of Axel Disasi ended and they sold Diego Carlos in January, and Bournemouth who sold Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid for north of £50m at the end of last season. It's claimed that Lucumi has a £24m release clause inserted into his existing Bologna contract, but neither Villa or Bournemouth are keen to part with such a sum of money in order to take advantage of the player's availaibility. The clause expires at the end of this month. Lucumi has spent the last three seasons with Bologna in Serie A; in 2023-24 he helped the club to finish in the Champions League places and then last year he made seven appearances, including a 90-minute run-out at Villa Park as the Lions beat the Italians 2-0 in October. Lucumi scored his only goal of last season in a Champions League defeat to Lille. He has been away with Colombia and namesake and former Villa striker Jhon Duran this summer, featuring against Emiliano Martinez's Argentina in the World Cup qualifier which finished 1-1. Earlier this past season, Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano said: "Yesterday, a former teammate of mine came to watch Lucumi training and told me that there is a phenomenon in this team. A defender like Jhon Lucumi with that physicality and that skill is an incredible player, but John also knows that to become a top player he must avoid those mistakes. "If he applies himself he can do it, it's a question of mentality, he can become a top player. We have analyzed the mistakes, we talk to each other straight without getting offended, we have seen and analyzed, we hope to improve." Do Villa need another centre half this summer? Have your say HERE Everyday, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content. Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here. You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club. If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here. Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.