Aston Villa plan to sign defender in January - Insider

Aston Villa are planning to sign a new star centre-back in the January transfer window, according to the club's former scout.

Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected at Villa Park and also spent over a decade as the chief scout at Man United, exclusively told Football Insider that the club are looking to bolster their strength in depth at the back.

This comes after Football Insider revealed on 16 November that Unai Emery is keen to bring in new defenders, with the club eyeing a swoop for Real Betis' Diego Llorente.

Villa are desperate to remain in the Champions League after their successful campaign so far and will look to add quality to their squad to give them the best chance of doing so.

Brown explained that the recruitment team, working with Emery, will assess which areas of the squad need to be strengthened with quality depth in the upcoming window.

As a result, the priority position will be at centre-back, with the club looking to land a key player amid questions about their defensive solidity.

It has also been suggested that players could leave Villa Park to make way for the new arrivals.

Aston Villa working on deal to sign new centre-back in January

Football Insider revealed on 17 November that Villa are open to offers for Diego Carlos after turning down interest from Fulham and AC Milan in the summer.

Now, Brown, who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment and played a key part in Man United's most successful period, echoed those concerns as he revealed Emery is "not convinced" by his defensive options.

"Villa have done remarkably well to get to where they are," he told Football Insider.

"But now that they're there, I've heard they want to strengthen certain areas of their team which aren't quite up to that level.

"They're in the Champions League, and that's where they want to stay.

"But to do that, you've got to make sure you've got Champions League quality players, and that includes the rotational players too, not just the starting XI.

"The main position they'll focus on is in the defence, at centre-back.

"From what I've heard, Emery isn't entirely convinced by a couple of his options there.

"So in the January window, I'd expect that to be an area they address to bring in a real star player there who can help lift the team."

In other news, Man United make Harry Amass transfer decision.

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