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Per a report from L'Equipe, Aston Villa are in advanced negotiations to sign Reims defender Bjorn Engels.

The defender only signed for the French side this year after initially spending the 2018/19 term on loan in Ligue 1 from Olympiacos.

If he does indeed join the club, he'll be the fourth defender to arrive through the doors of Villa Park this summer.

The Villans have already concluded deals for Kortney Hause, Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.

However, responding to claims that they were targeting another defender, Villa fans were split over a possible move.

Some were frustrated as one simply urged the club to stop signing defensive players whilst another said they should now be trying to land attackers. One fan was meanwhile worried that they weren't signing individuals with Premier League experience.

Yet there was positive reaction too. A further tweet suggested that Villa's biggest weakness was depth and therefore signing the 24-year-old would be a good thing. He was also lauded as a very good player by another supporter.

Engels played 33 times in the French top-flight last term, winning 3.1 aerial duels in the process as he enjoyed a hugely productive temporary stay in France.

Here's the best of the discussion.