Aston Villa transfer news: Unai Emery in major blow as Premier League rival 'agree £25.7m deal' for centre-back

Aston Villa have allegedly lost out to Crystal Palace in the race to sign Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez.

With Ezri Konsa having left for Arsenal, Unai Emery is looking to add at least one centre-back to his squad.

While Southampton's Taylor Harwood-Bellis is known to be a target, Ordonez has also been linked with a switch to Villa Park.

Although Villa are still seemingly biding their options at a time when they are also chasing a replacement for Ollie Watkins, Ordonez appeared high on their shortlist.

However, as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, it is Palace who are on the verge of signing the Ecuador international.

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Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa to Ordonez

The report alleges that Palace have agreed a €30m (£25.72m) deal, plus add-ons, deal with Club Brugge.

Furthermore, the 22-year-old has also given the green light to a transfer to Selhurst Park.

Providing that Ordonez passes a medical, he is expected to finalise a move to the Eagles.

Ordonez has made a total of 128 appearances for Club Brugge since the 2022-23 campaign.

During the World Cup, Ordonez made three appearances for Ecuador, including completing the 90 minutes as his nation defeated Germany in the group stages.

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The boost that Crystal Palace needed

With Chadi Riad suffering what appeared to be a serious injury against Everton on Saturday, Pierre Sage has needed to react.

Palace announced earlier on Thursday that they had signed Chelsea defender Axel Disasi on a season-long loan deal.

Sage also suggested at a press conference that Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta would not be leaving Selhurst Park, despite speculation linking them with Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively.