Aston Villa lead race for £10m Charles N’Zogbia despite Everton’s hijack attempts – report

For all the latest reports and transfer rumours, visit our dedicated section here.

Aston Villa are expected to complete their signing of Charles N’Zogbia for £10 million, despite Everton’s attempts to disrupt the deal, according to reports.

Villa have been looking for a replacement for the departed Stewart Downing and Ashley Young, and found it easier to finance the move after Wigan chairman Dave Whelan told Goal.com that the Frenchman would cost no less than £10m.

According to the Daily Mail, Everton would have had to sell either Jack Rodwell or Phil Jagielka to finance their move for N’Zogbia, after manager David Moyes was been told that he must sell players before he can buy.

N’Zogbia has made 83 appearances for Wigan since joining from Newcastle United in 2009, and has also been capped twice by the French national team.

He had since been linked to a number of Premier League clubs, including Sunderland and a return to Newcastle.