Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of centre-back Bjorn Engels, who spent last season on loan at Stade Reims from Olympiacos.

The 24-year-old former Belgium youth international arrives for an undisclosed fee, with the length of his contract also not being cited in Villa's release.

The centre-back started 35 games for Stade Reims in all competitions last season, as they finished eighth in Ligue 1, scoring one goal and assisting once.

He completed 1.3 interceptions, 5.4 clearances and 0.7 blocks last season, while his record of 0.3 successful tackles and 0.6 fouls per game isn't encouraging.

On WhoScored, his strengths are aerial duels and concentration, while his tackling is considered very weak and his passing is also a weakness.

Dean Smith has clearly seen encouraging signs from the Belgian, as Aston Villa quoted him saying: "Bjorn is a player that I've been watching for the past 18 months.

"We're very happy to have secured his services and look forward to working with him."

Villa have Tyrone Mings, James Chester, Ezri Konsa and Kortney Hause as centre back options, as well as Engels, so it is difficult to tell how much action the Belgian will see - at least initially.

Smith and his team have clearly taken time over this transfer, so while Engels will be an unknown to many, Smith's judgement will have to be trusted with this one.

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