Villa Set to Miss Out on Centre-Back Target as Current Alternatives Fail to Thrill

Ordóñez Deal Off as Villa’s Search for Konsa Replacement Continues

Aston Villa’s pursuit of Club Brugge centre-back Joel Ordóñez looks to be over. Crystal Palace have agreed a deal with Club Brugge to sign the centre-back, according to Fabrizio Romano, with a fee worth €30m plus add-ons, with Ordóñez agreeing to the move. It’s understood to be subject to a medical, with the player currently injured.

There have been reports that the player had agreed terms with Villa, yet it’s unclear whether Villa ever actually structured a deal Brugge were prepared to accept. Palace, by contrast, appear to have agreed a fee and moved quickly.

Ordóñez is highly regarded within Belgium, but a lot of the wider intrigue in him came from the fact that Liverpool were interested back in January, although they ultimately pulled out, reportedly after allegedly agreeing a fee of £43m. That fee certainly seems to be one that Villa would have had little interest in, although they would have undoubtably followed an initial loan with an obligation to buy approach.

Spoilt Goods

As short-term cover for Ezri Konsa, the 22-year-old had immediate shortcomings, given he remains injured with the metatarsal fracture he picked up in Ecuador’s World Cup defeat to Mexico in July. The expectation is that he won’t return for around two months.

Considering the upheaval their first team has suffered during the window, Villa need to be working immediately on rebuilding their defence, which will also include bedding in a new goalkeeper in Zion Suzuki.

Villa have already had to deal with the inconvenience of signing Johan Manzambi injured from the World Cup, although he should be back in September, so Emery won’t want to compromise his plans for the season any further.

Alternative Villa Targets

In terms of alternative targets, Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis remains a live target for Villa, with the Saints already rejecting two bids for the 24-year-old. The offers were thought to be in the £18-20m range against a Saints valuation closer to £30m. The England defender is said to be keen on the move.

Another reported target, per The Athletic, is West Ham United’s Jean-Clair Todibo, who has made 54 appearances since joining from Nice last year and is available following West Ham’s relegation to the Championship. The French defender has pace and is comfortable on the ball, and you could argue he shows characteristics of Konsa, but inconsistency and injury problems have left him with big question marks at the Hammers. Factor in Aaron Wan-Bissaka and do Villa really want to be getting in two defenders from a relegated team?

If the Ordóñez news means Villa are firming up their interest in either Harwood-Bellis or Todibo, it’ll certainly be a baptism of fire being integrated into Villa’s backline at the start of a Champions League campaign. Villa do have Victor Lindelöf to call on as a right-sided centre-back, but plugging an Ezri Konsa-sized hole properly could be the biggest issue Emery’s faces this season, now that Villa have agreed a deal to bring in Nicolas Jackson to replace Ollie Watkins.

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