‘Spoken with Emery’ - Wolves suffer blow as Aston Villa march on to complete transfer

Villa are shifting closer to the six-month loan signing of central defender Axel Disasi from Chelsea despite Wolves emerging as potential candidates for a late hijack attempt.

Disasi has his heart set on a move to Villa Park following a direct conversation with Unai Emery on Monday. Wolves have submitted two offers for RC Lens star Kevin Danso - one worth £16 million and another £18.4 million - but a move for Disasi appeared possible, too, with Vitor Pereira continuing his search for a second marquee defensive signing after Emmanuel Agbadou.

Transfer news journalist Fabrizio Romano reports Wolves and ‘more clubs’ were keen on Disasi but the player is insisting he joins Villa instead. Personal terms have already been agreed with the chances of a deal being finalised now completely up to how Villa and Chelsea want to proceed.

Journalist Fabrice Hawkins has separately reported that there will be no purchase clause in the deal for the five-time France international, who had been expected to leave Stamford Bridge after Trevoh Chalobah was recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace.

AC Milan and Napoli were interested Disasi, but Villa appear set to beat the Serie A sides to the punch. West Ham United and Newcastle United have also both been linked with a move for the Blues defender, along with a host of Serie A sides including Juventus, but it appears that Villa look to now be firmly in pole position.

Wolves suffer second Aston Villa transfer blow

This isn’t the first time Wolves and Villa have been involved in the same transfer saga as Diego Carlos was linked with a transfer to Molineux before making a move to Fenerbahce instead. Everything had been agreed for Carlos to join up with Jose Mourinho in Turkey but Wanderers eyed a late move - with some reports stating a bid of £10 million was lodged in an eleventh-hour hijack attempt.

Birmingham World understands, however, that an offer was actually never submitted. Wolves admired Carlos and were keeping tabs on how the 31-year-old’s situation played out but no bid was formally sent to Villa.

How will Axel Disasi fit in at Aston Villa?

Disasi’s arrival would come as a welcome boost to Villa’s defensive depth following Carlos’ sale and the injuries suffered by both Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings. Pau is out for another five or six weeks with a broken metatarsal while Mings hobbled off during the 1-1 draw with West Ham on Sunday.

Pace isn’t Disasi’s strong point but the Frenchman is mightily strong and - at 6ft 3in - dominates in the air. His presence from set pieces should be a great aid, especially in Mings’ absence. One downside of Disasi’s game, however, is the fact he’s very right-footed and Villa ideally need a left-sided centre-half.

Disasi joined Chelsea from AS Monaco for a reported £38.5 million fee in 2021 but his minutes have restricted since the arrival of Enzo Maresca, who has given the 26-year-old just four Premier League starts so far.