Aston Villa secure deal to sign Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia

Aston Villa are close to completing their second signing of the summer after agreeing a £9.5m fee with Wigan Athletic for Charles N'Zogbia. The 25-year-old winger, who is seen as a replacement for Stewart Downing, will hold talks with Villa over the next 24 hours and is expected to agree a five-year contract with the Midlands club. Although Wigan rejected Villa's £9m bid last week, their decision to travel to Austria for a pre-season tour on Friday without N'Zogbia suggested that it was a matter of when and not if the Frenchman departed. Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, had been holding out for £10m, claiming that N'Zogbia was an "absolute snip" at that price, but the two clubs eventually agreed to compromise, meeting halfway in their respective valuations. N'Zogbia will fill the considerable void left by Downing's £20m move to Liverpool earlier this month. He scored nine Premier League goals for Wigan last season, playing an influential role in their survival. N'Zogbia is, however, likely to have to wait to meet up with his new team-mates, who are currently in Hong Kong, because he does not have the required work visa.