And while the forward did receive plenty of offers in the new year, he was not interested in making a move mid-season and opted to stay put instead.
But now a recruitment source has told Football Insider that a free transfer swoop for Dembele is being viewed as “no-brainer” for Premier League sides who are keen on bringing a proven European goalscorer on board.
Dembele has played in England before when he featured for Fulham in the Championship before heading to Celtic and then back to his native France.
The attacker arguably enjoyed his best stint in Scotland but still has 70 goals in 171 games to his name in total for Lyon.
This season has not gone so well though, with Dembele only notching three times in 27 appearances. A major factor in that has been down to the return of Alexandre Lacazette to Lyon last summer.
Emery expected to be backed this summer
But in terms of Villa’s interest, they are ready to fund Emery with a sizeable transfer pot this summer after their success under the Spaniard.
They are expected to bring in two top-class forward options, having lost Danny Ings to West Ham in January.
Indeed, incoming Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany is expected to be a busy man when he succeeds current transfer chief Johan Lange in time for the summer window.
Villa are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they host Tottenham at Villa Park in the Premier League.
