OPINION
Aston Villa have surely been handed a major blow in their hunt to sign Luton Town defender James Justin after it was reported that he is likely to join Leicester City this summer instead of them.
The Daily Mail has reported that Villa want to bolster their full-back options this summer, but seem as though they are going to miss out on Justin, 21, as a move to the East Midlands is seemingly on the cards for him.
This comes after a report by Football Insider claimed that Aston Villa tabled a £7.5million bid to sign the Kenilworth Road left-back, who can also play on the right-hand side of the defence.
It was said that Justin was a long-term target of the Villans and were determined to snap him up whether they won promotion to the Premier League or not.
Of course Villa did seal promotion by winning the Championship play-offs, but that has not stopped Leicester from looking like the potential winners in the race for the 21-year-old’s signature.
It is without doubt a big blow for Villa, who pushed hard to sign Justin.
He is said to be “one of the best young defenders” in the EFL, so missing out on him will definitely be annoying for Smith after the West Midlands club tabled a £7.5million bid.
Justin played brilliantly for Luton this season as well as they won promotion from League One to the Championship.
He scored three goals and supplied nine assists in 52 appearances in all competitions and was named in the PFA’s League One team of the season.
Justin is still young at 21-years-of-age and will no doubt be a good addition for any team that wants to sign him due to the potential he has showcased in the last couple of seasons at Luton.
Unfortunately for Aston Villa, it seems as though he might be about to slip through their net.