Aston Villa ‘have spoken’ to Germany international as Gerrard’s summer rebuild starts early

Aston Villa have opened talks with the representatives of Borussia Monchengladbach and Germany international centre-back Matthias Ginter.

That’s according to Sky Sports Germany presenter Florian Plettenberg who claims that Gerrard has made it clear that he wants the experienced defender whose contract at Monchengladbach expires in June of this year.

Ginter, 28, has over 200 Bundesliga appearances as well as nearly 50 caps for Germany, fitting the bill of exactly the type of character the scouser has stated that he wants to bring to Villa Park.

Gerrard has not so subtly made it clear over the past weeks and months that he is in need of another centre-back, a defensive midfielder and another forward as a priority.

Liverpool’s Joe Gomez is one defender that has been linked on and off since before the January window and whilst he has the tools to be a good signing, Ginter appears to tick more of the boxes.

He’s older, has far more experience both domestically and internationally and has the type of character that could come in and instantly take the captaincy at Villa Park - another thing Gerrard has spoken of being a possibility.

Plettenberg states that Ginter has not yet made a decision on his future as he ‘waits for other options’ and with Bayern Munich apparently one interested party, competition is obviously going to be high.

The 28-year-old has 29 appearances in all competitions this year for Monchengladbach, scoring one goal.

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