Villa seal deal for Wigan winger N'Zogbia

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish finally signed Charles N'Zogbia on Friday after the France winger completed his transfer from Wigan. McLeish had come close to signing N'Zogbia last year when he was in charge at Birmingham, only for the deal to fall through at the 11th hour when the 25-year-old opted to stay with the Latics. The Scot tried again following his move to Villa in pre-season, but was rebuffed as Wigan fought to hold onto their prize asset. However, an offer of around £9.5 million ($15.6 million) persuaded Wigan to sell and Villa confirmed on Friday that N'Zogbia had signed a five-year contract after passing a medical. The former Newcastle player will be available to feature for the first time in Wednesday's pre-season friendly against Derby at Pride Park. "I am really happy and extremely excited to sign for Aston Villa," N'Zogbia told Villa's website "It is a great club and it is a really big step for me in my career, so I am sure I will enjoy my football here. "I think it is going to be a really good season and hopefully I'll do well here. "I can't wait to meet my new team-mates, play with them and work together to do something special this season. "Alex McLeish is a strong manager and I think he is going to build a really good team for this season."