Aston Villa reportedly wanted to sign German defender Toni Leistner but were beaten to the punch by Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers.
Queens Park Rangers suffered their biggest defeat in 31 years at The Hawthorns on Saturday. And central to that 7-1 mauling at the hands of West Brom was their new club captain Toni Leistner.
This was only the 28-year-old’s third Championship outing since he moved to Loftus Road on a free transfer from German second tier outfit Union Berlin. And it is difficult to imagine things getting any worse.
Though the early signs are that Aston Villa could have got something of a lucky escape when they missed out on Leistner during the summer transfer window.
According to the Berliner Kurier, Aston Villa wanted to sign the 6ft 3ins centre-back before he signed a three-year deal with QPR. But any Villa fanatic who witnessed the highlights of QPR’s brutal mauling in West Bromwich, or scrolled through the criticism of Leistner’s display on Twitter, will be very glad he is not plying his trade in claret and blue.
Aston Villa did sign a centre-back this summer, Axel Tuanzebe arriving on a second loan spell from Premier League giants Manchester United. And the youngster has enjoyed an impressive start to the season for Steve Bruce’s side.
Already, Tuanzebe is looking like a far better signing than Leistner could have been.
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