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All you need to know about Ghanaian defender

Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion are scrambling for the services if Jeffrey Schlupp.

Aston Villa have been linked with Leicester City utility man Jeffrey Schlupp after he was told by manager Claudio Ranieri that he can leave the Foxes.

This is a player that neighbours West Brom have been chasing for some time and are thought to still have an interest in. Could Steve Bruce snatch the Ghana international from under the nose of the Baggies?

Here's what you need to know about him...

Who is he?

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A 23-year-old, Schlupp was born to Ghanaian parents in Germany but moved to England at a young age. He represents Ghana internationally and stands at 5ft 10ins.

Versatile

He’s a versatile player. Schlupp is capable of playing left-back, on the left-wing, or even upfront. He started his career as a striker but has since been trained to take up any position down the left. Schlupp joined Leicester’s academy setup as an 11-year-old and progressed through each level, starring in the club’s FA Youth Cup campaign in 2011 before joining Brentford on loan.

After an incredible spell with the Bees that saw him net six times in nine games, he made his debut for Leicester in August of that year. Following an unsuccessful trial with Manchester United in 2013, he returned to Leicester and has been a first-team regular since.

A powerful and direct player blessed with great pace, Schlupp’s former Leicester team-mate Andrej Kramarić said: “I've never played with a more powerful player than Jeffrey Schlupp, such power and speed like I've never seen before.”

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His role in the title

He made 24 appearances as the Foxes pulled off their incredible march to the title last season, scoring once and providing two assists. He recorded a pass success percentage of 73% and made 1.9 tackles per game on average. Only Riyad Mahrez made more dribbles per game.

Schlupp and up

At just 23, the full-back has room to progress and could get better and better. With some of the inflated fees being thrown around this season, an outlay just into eight figures may well prove an astute one for Albion to secure a player who has not yet reached his peak.

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