Aston Villa advance with deal for Kevin Danso | OneFootball

Aston Villa are advancing with a deal to sign in-demand Lens centre-back Kevin Danso, according to the reliable Fabrice Hawkins. They met with the player’s camp today.

The Villains are looking for defensive reinforcement after losing Diego Carlos, who has joined Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Villa need to plug that hole at the back and had identified Chelsea centre-half Axel Disasi as the man to provide cover.

However, after Villa agreed to a deal with the Blues and Frenchman regarding joining the Birmingham club on loan for the next six months, Chelsea refused to play ball.

The official line is that Chelsea are too busy with other deals. This is not the first time something like this has happened with Chelsea, as Paris Saint-Germain were irritated after the Blues botched what should have been a straightforward loan deal for Hakim Ziyech.

For Aston Villa, it is also worth noting that Chelsea might be reluctant to let him go with Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile out with injuries and Renato Veiga leaving for Juventus.

Villa have turned to Danso, one of the better centre-halves in the French top flight over the past three seasons. He has bounced back from a horrid spell at Southampton.

The 26-year-old is a titan at the back, winning 64% of his aerial and 46% of his ground duels while helping to keep five clean sheets in 12 Ligue 1 appearances this season amid struggles.

Last season was more impressive as he won 67% of his aerial and 64% of his ground battles. These numbers will appeal to Aston Villa.

However, the Villans face competition for his signature, with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Rennes also in the mix for his signature.

Wolves have had their eyes on the Austrian international (with 24 caps) since last summer but have not offered enough to get the deal over the line.

Unai Emery’s side have now entered the picture and could snag him to Villa Park ahead of the competition.