Transfer confirmation: Aston Villa sign Denmark international Jores Okore
Former Villa captain Martin Laursen scouted the 20-year-old defender on Tuesday
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Your support makes all the difference.Aston Villa have signed 20-year-old Denmark international Jores Okore for an undisclosed fee.
Reports have speculated that Villa eventually paid around £4m, after having a £3m bid turned down last week.
Okore played for FC Nordsjaelland before agreeing terms with the Midlands club today.
Martin Laursen, a former centre back and captain for Aston Villa, watched the young defender training with the Denmark side and in the 2014 World Cup qualifying loss to Armernia.
Laursen spoke highly of Okore, calling him "one of the best defenders in Denmark."
“He’s very fast and physically really strong – he is a big boy,” Laursen told the Birmingham Mail.
“I think he’s got the right mentality. He sounds like a very nice person with both feet on the ground and he wants to work hard, so that’s very important.
“He is definitely one of the best defenders in Denmark.
"Right now the best two are Daniel Agger, of Liverpool, and Simon Kjaer, who plays for Wolfsburg in Germany.
“They are the regulars but they are both injured at the moment. Okore has played in a friendly and then Denmark will play again on Tuesday.
Okore was part of the side that helped FC Nordsjaelland win the Danish Superliga in 2012, become runners-up this year and competing in the early stages of the Champions League.
Laursen added: “Technically he is okay,” he added. “That’s not his best thing. I was not a good technical player either, but I turned out to be good in the Premier League anyway.
“Where he makes some mistakes is to find the right positions and when he has to mark players.
“There you can see he is young and not so experienced, but that will come. He’s only 20 and I wasn’t even a regular in Denmark when I was 20. Playing with the national team will help him mature.
"He’s got the qualities to become a very good centre-half and I think the Premier League will suit him.”
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