Villa close to securing services of Amavi for £10m

Aston Villa are thought to be closing in on the capture of Nice defender Jordan Amavi, who they have pursued relentlessly this summer having identified the 21-year old as the solution to a longstanding left-back issue.

The player was reported to favour a move to Lyon in order to stay in France but Villa have increased their offer to Nice - which could reportedly rise to the region of £10m including add-ons - to effectively price any competitors out of the market for French U21 international.

Amavi enjoyed an outstanding season in Ligue 1 in 2014/15, making more interceptions than any other player in Europe's top 5 leagues (165) as well as weighing in with 4 goals and averages of 3.9 tackles and 1.9 dribbles per game.

The Nice star secured the second highest rating from WhoScored in France's top-flight (7.74) - only behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic - and could become Villa's second signing from Ligue 1 this summer after the arrival of Idrissa Gueye from Lille.

Check out Amavi's statistical player characteristics and style of play at his player page