Aston Villa defender Bjorn Engels is no longer in Dean Smith’s plans, with a summer exit now looking likely.

That’s according to a report from VoetbelKrant, cited by Birmingham Live, who claim that Royal Antwerp are in pole position to sign the 26-year-old.

Antwerp, who tried to sign the Belgian in January, are thought to be at the front of the queue for the centre-back.

Engels' pricey Villa stint

Engels, who is on £55,000 per week at Villa Park, has made just 19 appearances in the Midlands following his £7.2m move from Stade Reims in 2019.

That works out at £379,000 per appearance, and it seems as if his disappointing stay in England will come to an end over the next few months.

Transfer Tavern take

Engels’ Transfermarkt valuation has plummeted from £10.8m to £3.6m over the last 16 months, and a summer exit would certainly seem to be the right decision.

He hasn’t made a Premier League appearance this season, with Smith mainly using Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa as a central defensive partnership.

Kortney Hause is another centre-back who appears to be above Engels in the pecking order, and Villa’s task now is to try and recoup as much of the £7.2m they paid for the Belgian two years ago as they can.

In other news: Many AVFC fans react to transfer update on Jack Grealish, find out more here.