Aston Villa and Boro in straight transfer battle for Championship star

Championship duo Aston Villa and Middlesbrough are in a direct battle for the services of Bristol City defender Joe Bryan according to the Bristol Post.

Both clubs have had bids accepted for the sought after left-back, believed to be in the region of £6m after bonuses, who had been on the radar of top-flight clubs this summer.

The ball is now believed to be in the player’s court, with Bryan free to choose between the two clubs and it is now up to their respective manager’s to convince the 24-year-old of their plans.

Both clubs will no doubt see the Robins graduate as a first choice left-back, with Steve Bruce particularly lacking that department, deploying Alan Hutton in that position last season at Villa Park.

Boro have fan favourite George Friend in that role so Bryan may take more convincing that he will be the number one left-back, but the arrival of former teammate Aden Flint at the Riverside in the summer may play in Tony Pulis’ favour.

Bryan earned the left-back spot in the WhoScored.com Championship team of the season for 2017/18 with a rating of 7.34, scoring five times and registering three assists, whilst averaging an impressive 2.9 tackles per game.