Aston Villa have beaten Premiership rivals Portsmouth, Sunderland and Newcastle in the race to the signing of Nicky Shorey from Reading.

The England left-back joins the Villans on a three-year deal following the Royals’ relegation to the Championship at the end of last season.

Royals boss Steve Coppell had resigned to losing the experienced full-back, but held out for the right offer after having earlier turned down one confirmed bid of an unnamed club. The Villans are reported to have offered in the region of £3.5million to bring Shorey to the Villa Park.

Martin O’Neill’s need for the left-back took the centre-stage with Wilfred Bouma suffering an ankle problem and being ruled out for the start of the new season, and was addressed swiftly.

"I'm delighted to be here. It's all come out of the blue a bit but it's a great challenge for me. This is a massive club and I'm really looking forward to it," Shorey told the club's official website.

"There were other clubs interested but this is such a big club. Obviously I talked to the manager and he's very positive and very ambitious. That's what I am - especially after last season. I want to get back into the Premier League and show people what I can do.

"So I'm just grateful for the opportunity to play for such a big club as Aston Villa. I think I can achieve everything I want in the game at a club like this.

"Villa are definitely going places. You can tell by the signings they're making and the people already at the club.

"The manager is talking very positively here and obviously the chairman's backing him up. So I want to be a part of that."