QPR defender Toni Leistner on Aston Villa’s radar, per report
By Josh Tonti
QPR central defender Toni Leistner is on the radar of Cardiff City and Aston Villa, per Pete O’Rourke.
German defender Toni Leistner is enjoying a steady maiden season in the English Championship. With his 33 league starts to date, clubs have begun to circle the £5 million-rated centre-back for a move in the summer. Aston Villa are one such club kicking the tires.
O’Rourke suggests Rangers would be reluctant to move a solid player, but any transfer fee would represent a net profit following his free transfer in 2018 from Union Berlin, where he spent the four previous years in 2. Bundesliga.
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Now the report is pretty vague, and while Dean Smith’s defensive arrivals Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause have solidified a leaky backline, neither is signed long-term. To bring them back, deals must be struck with Bournemouth and Wolves, respectively. And every week they impress in the claret and blue shirt is another potential price hike in the transfer window.
Leistner, 28, is a right-footed centre-back option for Smith. Tommy Elphick’s deal runs out in the summer, and, presumably, he will look for a club that can give him more consistent playing time. That leaves just James Chester to man the spot, wherein he enters the final year of his contract with an ailing knee.
For Aston Villa, centre-back is a position likely to see a new name in the summer. Especially so if some or all of: Elphick, Mings, and Hause do not return. Toni Leister, at QPR, is the latest player in the rumor mill for the club.