Aston Villa are likely to beat West Ham United in the race to sign Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek this summer.
That’s according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook who claims that Aston Villa is now the most likely destination for the 26-year-old Southampton centre-back.
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West Ham were allegedly ready to battle Villa for the signing of Bednarek this summer.
David Moyes has since strengthened his centre-back ranks at the London Stadium with the signing of Thilo Kehrer from Paris Saint-Germain.
It seems as though the Scot’s business in the centre-back department is over for the summer now though…
Aston Villa likely to sign Jan Bednarek ahead of West Ham
talkSPORT’s Alex Crook reckons that the Hammers won’t be signing the Saints defender this summer.
Instead, a move to join Aston Villa is more likely for Bednarek.
The 42-capped Poland international could be available for around £13 million this summer (Give Me Sport).
Now, we think that the 26-year-old would have been a decent signing for West Ham.
He was in the top 10 in the Premier League for both interceptions and clearances last season (Premier League’s official website)
In 31 Premier league appearances last term, Bednarek averaged one tackle, 2.3 interceptions, 4.5 clearances and 2.9 successful aerial duels per game (Who Scored).
During those outings, he made 46.6 passes on average per match and recorded a completion rate of 81.7% (Who Scored).
He has been described as a ‘brick wall’ by The Athletic. Meanwhile, BT Sport have labelled him as ‘outstanding’.
We think that the 26-year-old would have been a very smart addition for West Ham this summer. Having said that, Thilo Kehrer is undoubtedly a better player than the Southampton centre-back.
So losing out on Jan Bednarek to Aston Villa should not be a big issue for the Hammers.
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