According to Calciomercato, Laurent Koscielny ‘likes’ Aston Villa and may be considering them as a potential next destination. The French international’s future at Arsenal is unsure with his hopes of playing time uncertain under Unai Emery, and Villa would surely jump at the chance to sign the experienced centre-back as they’ve been desperate to bolster their backline.
Koscielny joined Arsenal from FC Lorient in 2010 and has gone on to make 324 appearances in all competitions, scoring and creating 29 goals. The 33-year-old has struggled with an achilles injury from May and is slowly nearing a return. Koscielny will be short of fitness and finds himself behind Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulous and Rob Holding in the pecking order.
As for Villa, they may struggle to match his lofty personal terms, as Koscielny is reportedly earning £90k-per-week. New manager Dean Smith is in the market for a centre-back, as Tommy Elphick’s loan move to Hull City left Villa with only Axel Tuanzebe and James Chester as natural options. James Collins is currently training with the club with a view to signing on a free transfer when his fitness improves, but another defender appears to be on their radar.
Stats from Transfermarkt.
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