Big-spending Villa close on £7.8m Cuellar
Aston Villa closed in on their third defensive signing in just five days last night after agreeing a £7.8m fee with Rangers for Spanish centre-back Carlos Cuellar.
The bid triggered a release clause in the contract of the 26-year-old, who cost £2.37m from Osasuna last summer and won the Scottish Premier League’s Player of the Year award in his first campaign.
Cuellar’s move, which is likely to be completed today, follows last week’s arrival of left-back Nicky Shorey from Reading and right-back Luke Young from Middlesbrough.
Villa and Rangers confirmed the news on their official websites last night, with Cuellar admitting his international hopes had led him to seek a move away from Ibrox.
“My ambition has always been to play for my national team and I believe that playing in the biggest league in the world for Aston Villa will help me realise that,” he said. “The Rangers supporters have been fantastic to me, but I am young and want to play at the highest level and I hope they will always welcome me back.”
Cuellar had been linked with a move south of the border all summer, but Rangers boss Walter Smith insisted yesterday’s developments had been a shock.
“This has come as a surprise and I am disappointed,” Smith said. “Carlos Cuellar has been a great player for the football club and inevitably there has been speculation about him playing in the Premiership.”
Villa’s move for Cuellar came after another of their summer targets, Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul, sealed a switch to Portsmouth.
The former France Under-21 international arrived from Auxerre in an £8m deal last summer but struggled to hold down a regular first team spot. Kaboul said: “Everyone said I was going to Sunderland or Villa but I only ever wanted to come here.