Aston Villa 'ADVANCE' on deal as Chelsea block priority transfer

Tom Weber

Updated: 31 Jan 2025 09:17 CST
3 min read

Aston Villa are 'advancing' on a deal to sign Kevin Danso as Chelsea continue to block the exit of Axel Disasi, according to French media.

Unai Emery and recruitment guru Monchi have once again had to look for an alternative centre-back target over the past 24 hours. Earlier in the window, they had looked at Loic Bade and Juan Foyth, but neither deal progressed much.

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More recently, Aston Villa agreed personal terms with Chelsea defender Disasi, who has been expected to leave the Blues all window, but this deal has now hit an impasse as it appears as though no club-to-club agreement can be reached.

This has forced Villa to again dip into the market and their latest trail has now led them to Kevin Danso, the sought-after RC Lens defender who is said to be keen to leave the Ligue 1 side.

Danso was already expected to depart in the summer, but a move to Roma fell through after a heart problem was discovered that sidelined him for the early part of the campaign, and which allowed new Man City signing Abdukodir Khusanov to rise to prominence.

The Austrian international is back fit and remains highly-rated, so a major battle for his signature is raging, and Villa have now entered the fray.

Aston Villa move for Danso

According to RMC, the Birmingham club are 'advancing' on a deal for Danso and have held a meeting with his representatives to sound out the situation.

Villa are still hopeful that Chelsea can be convinced to soften their stance on Disasi, but Danso is now being pursued as a viable Plan B. The likes of Stade Rennais, Wolves and Juventus have also been in talks to sign him.

Interestingly, earlier on Friday, L'Equipe reported that the 26-year-old would actually favour the permanent move to Ligue 1 relegation-battlers Rennes over the proposed loan move to Wolves. It is as yet unclear how he feels about joining Villa.

Danso is no stranger to the English game as he previously had a loan spell at Southampton back when he was on the books at Bundesliga side Augsburg.