Aston Villa have set their sights on signing Rangers centre-back Filip Helander, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Helander profiled

Helander, labelled as 'very tough', was brought to Ibrox by Steven Gerrard back in 2019 in a deal worth £3.5m.

Since then, the Sweden international has made 60 appearances for the Scottish giants, however, only 11 of those have come during the current campaign, with Helander missing large parts of the season through injury.

He will be entering the final 12 months of his Rangers contract in the summer, and it looks as if Villa are keen on a cut-price deal for the now £3.15m-rated defender.

The Latest: Source shares update

Football Insider shared a story on Tuesday morning regarding Helander after being informed by a Villa source.

They claim that Johan Lange and co. are interested in signing the 28-year-old this summer, but Gerrard is concerned over Helander’s injury record, something which could put a move in jeopardy.

The Verdict: A risk

A number of defensive signings could well be needed this summer, especially with the futures of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa up in the air.

Should the pair move on, bringing in someone like Helander in a cut-price deal could be a shrewd move to bolster the club’s options, however, it would also be a gamble.

The Rangers man has missed 66 games through injury since arriving in Scotland, so Gerrard may feel he could be signing a player he can’t rely on completely heading into his first full season in charge.

In other news: Source: Villa now open to selling 2022 star this summer despite Gerrard being a big fan.