Aston Villa will sign Idrissa Gueye from Lille in a deal worth about £9m after the Senegal international, a defensive midfielder, completed a medical and agreed personal terms with the Midlands club.
Marseille made a late attempt to hijack the transfer but the 25-year-old was keen to come to the Premier League and Tim Sherwood convinced him that Villa was the right place for his development.
The deal is subject to Gueye being granted a work permit but it is not anticipated that there will be any problems. Gueye, who joined Lille at the age of 13 and played more than 130 games for the club in Ligue 1, flew into Birmingham for talks on Thursday and it is understood that any doubts he had about moving to Villa were allayed after he spoke to Sherwood.
Villa’s manager has already signed Micah Richards on a free transfer from Manchester City this summer and remains keen to streng then other areas in his squad.