, Aston Villa primed to sign international midfielder after Derby end chase

Aston Villa primed to sign international midfielder after Derby end chase

The Mirror reports that Aston Villa are closing in on the signing of Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan. This comes after Sky Bet Championship rivals Derby County ended their interest in the Republic of Ireland international, parting way for Steve Bruce to get his man.

The 33-year-old has been a big hit at Stoke since making the move from Sheffield Wednesday for £500,000 back in 2008. Since then, he has made well over 250 appearances for the club, helping them win promotion into the Premier League and reach the final of the FA Cup. Aston Villa look set to complete their second summer signing, the first being ex-Chelsea and England captain John Terry.

Bruce is said to have been keen to add more bite to his midfielder department. Whilst he has the likes of Henri Lansbury, Aaron Tshibola, Conor Hourihane, Birkir Bjarnason, Gary Gardner and Mile Jedinak, he still wants a certain type of player. However, the deal to bring Whelan to Villa Park won’t be completed officially until later this month as the Championship club firstly want to remove a lot of dead wood from their squad. Possibly some of the players mentioned previously could be heading on. Certainly players like Carles Gil, Carlos Sanchez and Aly Cissokho, along with Jordan Amavi and Jordan Veretout, seem primed to depart at some stage.

In the case of Derby, it means Rowett focuses elsewhere as he looks to add to his central midfielder options at Pride Park. Will Hughes departed for Watford earlier this summer, meaning there is still a void to be filled.

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