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Aston Villa defender James Chester is a supposed transfer target of Leeds United this summer.

That’s according to the Daily Star, who claim that Marcelo Bielsa wants to replace the sold Pontus Jansson with Welshman Chester, after Villa completed the signings of four defenders to compete with Chester in the coming Premier League campaign.

The Star add that the Yorkshire club would be willing to pay as much as £7.5m for Chester, who is out in the United States with the rest of the Villa squad currently.

Dean Smith has moved to strengthen a previously threadbare defensive department with the permanent captures of Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause, after successful loan spells last term, and further additions in the form of Bjorn Engels and Ezri Konsa.

It means that competition is all of a sudden particularly stern in that area, just how former centre-backs Smith and John Terry would like it.

It raises questions over game-time of Chester, a fan favourite who is having to indefinitely manage a knee injury picked up on international duty last year.

Indeed since the end of the season and Villa’s promotion triumph at Wembley, the former Hull and West Brom man has admitted as much.

“With the rest I’ve had since the end of January, the injury has improved an awful lot,” Chester said earlier this month.

“I’m not dealing with any pain at the moment. That’s a huge bonus but with the type of injury it is it will need monitoring and perhaps I won’t train as much as I always have done, to prolong my career.”

Leeds, meanwhile, sold Jansson to Championship rivals Brentford for around £5m earlier this month, a move that surprised many.

There have been suggestions since that Jansson and Bielsa didn’t see eye to eye, particularly since the Swede defied him when the Argentine instructed his team to allow Villa and equalising goal during THAT crazy encounter at Elland Road at the end of the season.

It’s left the Whites thin at the back, with new recruit Ben White and Liam Cooper the likely pairing currently.