Aston Villa handed a boost in their hopes of signing Newcastle United man

Aston Villa may have received a boost in the race to sign Newcastle defender Grant Hanley following Derby County completing the signing of Curtis Davies from Hull City.

Derby were linked with a move for a new center-back and were said to be keen on recruiting Hanley. However after completing the signing of Davies, the Rams have reportedly cooled their interest in signing the former.

The experienced 32-year-old Davies was surprisingly allowed to leave by Hull for just £500,000 following the clubs relegation from the Premier League.

Aston Villa often defended sloppily last season which destroyed their chances of challenging for promotion.

Despite spending the majority of this past season on the Magpies bench, Hanley is reportedly a priority target of Villa manager Steve Bruce as he looks to bolster his defence ahead of next season. Hanley will be keen to play more regularly and end his frustrating spell with Newcastle.