Aston Villa are close to signing Caen full-back Frederic Guilbert as they prepare to loan out James Bree, according to two reliable journalists.
Express & Star correspondent Matt Maher and the Birmingham Mail’s Gregg Evans claim the Midlands giants are working on the two deadline-day deals.
Maher explained the capture of Guilbert, 24, is “close’, while right-back Bree is set to join Ipswich Town on loan for the rest of the season.
#avfc closing in on a deal for Caen full-back Frederic Guilbert. James Bree set to join Ipswich on loan.
— matt maher (@mjmarr_star) January 31, 2019
Looks like James Bree is going on loan to Ipswich.#avfc trying to sign Caen full-back Fred Guilbert. More details to follow.
— Gregg Evans (@greggevans40) January 31, 2019
OPINION
The full-back positions have been clear weak points for Villa this season despite the sterling efforts of the versatile Alan Hutton, who has covered both positions manfully over the past year. Bree has made six league starts among 11 first team appearances this season, but he has not totally convinced and doesn’t look quite good enough yet for a club with genuine promotion ambitions. Time will tell if Guilbert is an upgrade on the 21-year-old, but it should be in his favour that he has more experience and has also been playing regularly this season in Ligue 1, which is a higher standard than the English Championship. Villa have made the move for the highly-regarded Caen player as they look to reinforce a back line that has been the most leaky of all the clubs in the top 15 of the division this season. With a deal in place for Tyrone Mings, Villa’s late window business could make all their difference in their promotion hopes.