Last Updated: Thu, 08 Nov 2012 09:59
Porto defender Abdoulaye Ba is on Aston Villa's radar amid speculation boss Paul Lambert is lining up a January swoop for him.
Villa scouts reportedly watched the highly-rated defender play against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday night - a game which sealed the Portuguese side's passage into the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Senegal international is thought to be available for a loan move in January and has been attracting attention from a handful of Premier League clubs this season.
Villa boss Lambert is leading the way to land him at this stage and is weighing up whether making an offer to lure him to the West Midlands in the new year, with a view to making the switch permanent if he does well.
The centre-back, who was sent out to Academica last season on loan, is well thought of by Porto but they would be happy to let him leave on the right terms and Villa are interested.
West Ham have been heavily linked with the 21-year-old as well and Hammers boss Sam Allardyce is also monitoring his situation as he ponders joining the January race for the defender.
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