Source: Daily_Mail
Richard Dunne's arrival excites Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov
Skipper Stiliyan Petrov believes Aston Villa will be signing a leader when they formally complete the capture of Manchester City skipper Richard Dunne on a four-year contract in a £6million deal.
The Premier League asked for more time to ratify the deal despite Villa starting to submit the relevant documents before 4pm on Tuesday - an hour before the transfer window formally closed.
But Villa remain confident Dunne will become their player after a nine-season spell at City, having passed a medical and agreed personal terms.
The Football Association are satisfied with the paperwork presented by Villa but they formally need the approval of the Premier League before they can announce Dunne's capture.
Petrov said: 'The deal for Dunne will be great news for Villa.
Richard is an international player, he's been in the Premier League for so many years and is one of the game's big players.
'It will be a big signing for Villa. It gives us a strong defender at the back and he is a true leader.'
Villa have already signed West Ham defender James Collins for around £5m.
Dunne's days at Eastlands appeared to be numbered after the signing of Kolo Toure from Arsenal and then Joleon Lescott from Everton.
But his arrival - along with Collins - at Villa Park will provide Martin O'Neill with the kind of experienced centre-back he has been looking for since the retirement of Martin Laursen at the end of last season with a knee injury.
O'Neill also allowed Zat Knight to move to Bolton and started the current campaign with only two experienced centre-backs in Curtis Davies and Carlos Cuellar.
