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Aston Villa are expected to test Charlton Athletic’s resolve with a bid for young star Jordan Cousins.

Boss Tim Sherwood is keen on the 21-year-old midfielder and is hoping to prize him away from the Championship outfit this summer.

Villa are in the market for at least three new players and are aware that the gap left by Tom Cleverley’s departure is one void that quickly needs filling.

Hard-working Cousins is a similar type of player to last season’s loanee, albeit less experienced, and Sherwood is thought to have tracked his progress for a number of years.

Tempting Charlton to sell will be difficult, though.

The Addicks are currently considering offering the England U20 ace a new deal on enhanced terms as his contract expires after next season.

It’s likely they will pull out all the stops to avoid losing another one of their top young talents after teenager Joe Gomez joined Liverpool last week.

Villa were in for Gomez themselves but the 18-year-old defender saw an exciting career path at Anfield and opted for that move instead.

His exit angered supporters in south London and the pressure is building on Charlton’s owners to resist any approach from Villa, Newcastle and Liverpool - the trio of Premier League clubs showing an interest.

Sherwood and director of recruitment Paddy Reilly have been busy tracking targets this summer but so far Micah Richards is the only man through the door.

The claret and blues boss said recently that he wants young and hungry players in his team next season and Cousins perfectly fits the bill.

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The centre midfielder is strong, technically gifted, has bags of energy and is always looking to improve.

His Prozone stats often produce remarkable readings and assistant Villa boss Mark Robson knows him well from his time at The Valley.

In an interview recently he said:

“I’m not really a stats person myself but when they (the Charlton coaching staff) do come in on a Monday morning and tell me that my stats are quite high and I cover a lot of distance on a Saturday at a high intensity, at least they can’t fault me for my effort.

“I think that I’ve got a lot of athleticism for a young boy. I’m quite developed for my age so I can get about the pitch quite well.”

Born in Greenwich, he’s been at Charlton since he was 13 and has played all through the age groups for England.

As a teenager he was used as a right-back and at times last season he was deployed in a wide left role, although his best position is in the middle of the park.

Since breaking through at the start of the 2013/14 campaign Cousins has gone on to make 94 first-team appearances and won the club’s player-of-the-year award last term.

Villa's 2015-16 fixture list: