Villa open purse with bid for Laursen

Aston Villa have made their first move of the summer, signing Denmark defender Martin Laursen from AC Milan for £3m (€4.5m).

Laursen will move to England after falling out of favour at the San Siro following the acquisition of Alessandro Nesta two years ago.

He remains a key member of the Denmark team, however, and will travel to Portugal for Euro 2004.

Capped 33 times for Denmark, Laursen has also turned out for Silkeborg, Verona and Parma.

He had also been linked with Tottenham, Middlesbrough, Feyenoord and Charlton.

His signing comes after manager David O’Leary’s decision to allow veteran defenders Dion Dublin and Ronny Johnsen to leave and follows Villa’s rise from relegation candidates to European contenders.

Laursen becomes O’Leary’s fourth signing after Thomas Sorensen, Nolberto Solano and Gavin McCann.