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According to Football Insider, Aston Villa are lining up a summer move for £5m-rated Queens Park Rangers centre-back Toni Leistner – and his arrival could well bring an end to Tommy Elphick’s Villa Park career.
What’s the word, then?
Well, Football Insider report that the Midlands outfit have made strengthening their central defensive options their priority at the end of the season, as they have conceded the most goals (53 in 35 games) in the top half of the Championship.
Football Insider report that the German’s form has brought him to the attention of a number of clubs, including Villa and Cardiff City, after taking to English football like a duck to water following his move to Loftus Road from his home country last summer.
The report adds that while QPR would naturally be reluctant to lose the 28-year-old, who was Steve McClaren’s first signing and is now club captain, an offer of £5m could tempt them seeing as they brought him to west London for nothing.
Bad news for Elphick
It certainly would be.
The 31-year-old has only just worked his way back into the first-team plans at Villa Park having fallen out of favour under Steve Bruce and spending the first-half of the campaign on loan at Hull City, although the rejuvenated former Bournemouth man will now be absent for the next four to five weeks through injury.
The experienced centre-back only has a few months remaining on his contract however, and the fact that the Championship club have James Chester already and would likely bring Leistner straight into the XI suggests their mind is already made up on Elphick’s future.
