‘Aston Villa Miss Out’ – Villans Look Beaten By Crystal Palace In Defender Chase | OneFootball

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Aston Villa look to have seen their swoop to sign Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez hijacked by Crystal Palace, with the Eagles swooping in to reach an agreement.

Unai Emery is keen for central defensive reinforcements, having seen Ezri Konsa lost recently in what was a big blow.

A number of deals have been worked on by Aston Villa, including a swoop for Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Club Brugge’s Ordonez.

The move for Ordonez looked to be progressing well, amid suggestions personal terms were not an issue, even though there was no agreement in place with Club Brugge.

Now though the situation has changed drastically and Crystal Palace have stolen in to hijack the swoop, according to Belgian daily HLN.

While Crystal Palace have agreed to a loan with an obligation to buy, just as Aston Villa were prepared to, the Eagles’ offer is superior.

Palace will pay a fixed fee of €30m for Ordonez, while there will also be add-ons included in the deal which are viewed as ‘achievable’ by the Belgians.

The Selhurst Park outfit have also agreed to the inclusion of a sell-on clause in the agreement, which goes above ten per cent on any profit that Palace make in future on the defender.

Villa, it is suggested, look to have been caught off guard and Ordonez is now discussing personal terms with Crystal Palace.

Should those talks go well then he will head to London to undergo a medical with Crystal Palace.

Aston Villa, it is suggested, wanted to make the obligation to buy in any loan conditional on sporting performance, which is not the case with Crystal Palace’s offer.

Club Brugge have been plotting the sale of Ordonez this summer and were aiming to bring in a big fee.

With the final total likely to come close to €35m, the Belgian giants are happy with the agreement struck with Crystal Palace.

For Aston Villa, the development is a huge blow and could well see them return to the chase for Harwood-Bellis with renewed force.