Hull City have signed Reece Burke West Ham United but Aston Villa were also linked.
The race to sign West Ham United defender Reece Burke is over. And Hull City are the victors.
The highly-rated centre-back has joined Hull in a deal worth £1.5 million according to the Mirror (live blog, 1.17pm),– after rejecting Derby County due to fears about a lack of first-team football at Pride Park under Frank Lampard.
But Derby are not the only team left disappointed. The Mirror adds that Aston Villa were keen to sign Burke, only for their financial situation to rule them out.
The fact that Villa could not even afford to pay £1.5 million for a player really shows just how bad things have become in the Midlands. But this is not the only reason why Villa fans should be disappointed about the failure to land Burke.
In the post-John Terry era, and with James Chester heavily tipped to follow the veteran and Christopher Samba out the door, Villa are suddenly looking a little light on centre-halves.
21-year-old Burke then would have been a welcome addition, especially due to his ability to play effectively in a defensive midfield role, too.
6ft 2ins Burke is a strong, old school defender who excelled in aerial duels and therefore would have been the sort of centre-back Steve Bruce likes to work with.
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