Aston Villa are weighing up a loan move for Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, according to Tom Hamilton of ESPN

The lowdown

Aston Villa appear to be on the hunt for a solution at centre-back following an early injury to summer signing Diego Carlos.

Carlos is expected to be out for at least six months after rupturing his achilles in just the second Premier League game of the season.

Chalobah, 23, made 17 Premier League starts and 31 appearances in all competitions last season, but he's yet to feature in 2022/23.

The arrival of Kalidou Koulibaly at Stamford Bridge may have pushed him down the pecking order.

The latest

Hamilton shared the 'latest on Trevoh Chalobah' on Twitter.

He says that 'Aston Villa and Inter Milan are looking into taking the Chelsea defender on loan'.

In the attached live blog, it's explained that the Blues won't sanction a permanent exit for Chalobah but could allow him to leave on a temporary deal.

The verdict

Chalobah could be a smart short-term signing for Villa.

He's a modern defender, confident and precise in possession (93rd percentile for passes attempted, 91st for passing accuracy) and able to bring the ball upfield (85th percentile for progressive carries).

Only four players in last season's Premier League boasted a better pass completion percentage than the Englishman.

As per FBRef, he's similar in profile to Liverpool duo Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate, as well as Pau Torres of Villarreal.

Thiago Silva has described him as 'the future' of Chelsea, while Rio Ferdinand called his performance in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup 'unbelievable'.

Villa, who sold Carney Chukwuemeka to the London club earlier in the window, would hope to emulate the success of their 2018/19 loan move for Tammy Abraham.

Abraham scored 25 Championship goals that year to help Villa regain their place in the Premier League.