Aston Villa are set to make their first summer signing after agreeing on a deal with Portsmouth for French defender Sylvain Distin. Distin, 31,has just one year left on his current contract at Pompey and wants to move to a bigger club. The lure of European football with Villa could be too hard to resist for Distin. According to the Birmingham Mail, Distin will sign for a fee of about £2 to £3 million. Distin had always been an Aston Villa target. Martin O’Leary nearly signed him for the Midlands club in 2005. The arrival of Distin would pave way for Zat Knight to complete a move to Bolton.
Aston Villa have also agreed to pay £12 million to Middlesbrough for the services of England international Stuart Downing. Downing is currently recovering from foot surgery which would keep him out of the game till October. Having made more than 200 appearances for Boro over the last few years, he was unable to save Boro from the drop last season. Downing had been linked with a move to Everton and Tottenham but has chosen Aston Villa to be his preferred destination. He will provide much needed competition to Ashley Young on the left wing and add flexibility to the Villa side.
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