Villa gamble on France Under-21 defender Amavi

The 21-year-old -- whose fee could rival that of French international striker Loic Remy when he moved to Marseille in 2010 -- underwent a medical and held talks with Villa manager Tim Sherwood on Saturday before putting pen to paper according to the Nice board.

The fee will be of immense use to Nice, who have been searching for funds for its future training centre whose cost is put at 15million euros.

Amavi, who will see his wages rise considerably with the move, has only played at leftback for a season having been converted from attacking midfielder by Nice manager Claude Puel playing 36 times last season and scoring four goals.

Amavi, whose large transfer fee represents a gamble by Sherwood and for a team that has struggled to avoid relegation in the past two seasons, made his Ligue 1 debut in 2012 but only became a regular first choice last term.