Fulham are leading the race to sign Aston Villa defender Diego Carlos, according to a Daily Telegraph report this evening.

The 31 year-old centre half has two years left on his contract but is expected to leave Villa Park this summer. Carlos, who was red carded in a summer defeat by RB Leipzig, was left out of Villa’s most recent friendly against Athletic Bilbao and is not believed to be injured.

Fulham are keen to bring in another centre back having seen Tosin Adarabioyo and Tim Ream leave Craven Cottage this summer and are understood to be the frontrunners for the Brazilian – having followed up on their initial interest in the Olympic gold medal winner. The former Sevilla defender is understood to be on West Ham’s longlist of potential signings to replace Kurt Zouma and has attracted interest from a number of clubs on the continent.