Middlesbrough are hoping to bolster their defensive ranks with a move for James Chester.

According to a report from Football Insider,the Aston Villa defender is being tipped to leave the Premier League club after falling out of favour under Dean Smith.

The Welshman has made just two senior appearances for Aston Villa this season, which will certainly be frustrating for the defender.

He captained Villa in the 2018/19 season and made 28 appearances in total for Dean Smith's side, and has every right to feel hard done by after a lack of game time in this year's campaign.

So what could the experienced defender bring to Jonathan Woodgate's side? We take a look at the key figures behind his role in helping Aston Villa to promotion.

There's no doubting James Chester's credentials at Championship level.

The 30-year-old was a key part of the Villa side that reached the 2018 play-off final, before leading the team to promotion last term under Dean Smith.

Chester made 28 appearances for Aston Villa last term, and racked up some impressive numbers.

According to Wyscout, Chester won 72.3% of his defensive duels, while averaging 3.79 clearances per game.

Add that to an average of 5.91 clearances per game and you begin to see why the defender is so highly rated by Middlesbrough.

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But James Chester isn't just a no-nonsense defender.

He boasts an impressive 90.7% passing accuracy, meaning that he's a player who would certainly fit in with Jonathan Woodgate's philosophy of playing out from the back.

Chester also contributed five goals to Aston Villa's cause - an impressive tally for a centre-back as he averaged a goal roughly every five-and-a-half games.