Villa set to open summer by signing veteran defender

This is the way the transfer window opens, not with a bang but a whimper. Aston Villa appear to be on the verge of signing centre back Philippe Senderos on a free transfer days before he leaves for Brazil to represent Switzerland in the World Cup. The defender is undergoing a medical in Birmingham before it is officially announced that he is the newest member of Paul Lambert's squad. He will come to Birmingham after spending most of the last four years with Fulham, save the time since January, when he was at Valencia.

It seems likely that Senderos' arrival will put an end to the Joleon Lescott rumour, though if I know anything about the press it's that they will continue to beat that drum until the world ends. Senderos will provide solid, if not stellar, cover for Ron Vlaar and Jores Okore next season, and he adds to Villa's depth in the defense. Given that this is a free signing and one that will probably be fairly easy on the wage bill, it's hard to dislike it. But it's also pretty hard to be all that excited about it if reaction on twitter tells us anything.

Senderos gives Lambert a bit of flexibility that he wouldn't have otherwise had. A three centre back formation is now possible (heck, against Manchester City, Villa could now play FIVE centre backs. I'd actually think that was the funniest thing ever), as is a bit of squad rotation. Hopefully this means that injuries in the back won't be as forboding as they were this season.

And so the summer window starts. It's not the most exciting move (though hey: another Villan to watch at the World Cup!), but it's a smart one that has very little downside. In that light: hooray! Now let's do something exciting and relatively cheap, please!