Aston Villa are reportedly keen on signing Burnley defender Ben Gibson before the January transfer window shuts.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche has stated that Aston Villa target Ben Gibson ‘will not be going anywhere’ amid speculation about his future.
Sky Sports reported that Championship club Villa made a loan offer for the 26-year-old centre-back, with a view to signing him on a permanent deal in the summer.
Gibson was an unused substitute for the Clarets as they recorded a deserved 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.
Despite that, Dyche confirmed that his centre-back will not be leaving the club before deadline day, with Ben Mee and James Tarkowski currently playing ahead of him.
“There is [talk] of 10 players in and 10 players out,” Dyche told his post-match press conference as broadcast on Sky Sports News on 30/01/2019. “I don’t think they are all going to happen, that is for sure.
“But no, he [Gibson] will not be going anywhere.”
Gibson made the move from the Championship side Middlesbrough to the Premier League club during the summer for a fee of £12 million as detailed in the earlier Sky report.
At the start of the campaign, Gibson did struggle with injuries, but for the most time, he has been on the bench since December, starting only one Premier League game this season, according to transfermarkt.
As for Dean Smith’s Villa, he will be looking to add more depth and quality to his squad as he pushes for a playoff place, with the Midlands outfit four points behind sixth-placed Derby.
At this moment in time, Smith has James Chester, Tommy Elphick, Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe to choose from as his centre-backs, but the latter is currently on the sidelines with an injury.
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