Aston Villa are keeping tabs on one of France’s best centre-backs to join Paulo Torres

Aston Villa are prepared to make more upgrades in the summer transfer market, knowing that strengthening their squad will help help Unai Emery achieve something in the Champions League.

Emery is one of the best competition managers in football, having won three Europa League titles with Sevilla and another La Liga title with Villarreal.

Aston Villa need to overhaul their midfield to compete at the highest level, especially with star player Douglas Luiz just one step away from joining Juventus this summer.

But the Lions also need upgrades on the defensive line. Ezri Konsa is top-notch, but Aston Villa could use a new starter next to former Villarreal standout Paulo Torres.

Aston Villa are one of the clubs keeping tabs on a summer move for Jean-Clair Todibo, according to a report from FootMercato.net’s Sebastien Denis.

Todibo has been linked with several other top Premier League teams, including Manchester United, but Aston Villa will have a key advantage here after finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League; Manchester United are eighth and only rely on football Victory in the FA Cup leads to the Europa League.

According to Dennis, Juventus, Dortmund and Leverkusen are the three European Champions League teams interested in Todibo. Interestingly, Todibo played for Schalke in the Bundesliga for a while, quietly shining in an already terrible team. In this case, he will become one of the rare players to play for both Dortmund and Schalke.

As Aston Villa can provide Todibo with starting minutes and they qualify for the Champions League, there could be clear advantages to signing the 24-year-old.

Todibo has been one of the best central defenders in Ligue 1 since joining Nice. In the past two seasons, he averaged 3.4 tackles and 3.2 interceptions per game, and his pass success rate hovered around 90%.

Even though Todibo hasn’t made many appearances for the French national team, he should be regarded as one of the best central defenders in France.