CAPTAIN Stiliyan Petrov admits the imminent Charles N’Zogbia signing has got the Villa dressing room buzzing – but the winger will not be jetting out to Hong Kong.

N’Zogbia is set to be welcomed to Bodymoor Heath by reserve team boss Kevin MacDonald when he flies in to England from a break in Dubai for his medical tomorrow.

But Villa manager Alex McLeish has confirmed N’Zogbia will not be joining the claret and blues’ tour when he finalises his £9.5 million move from Wigan.

Petrov is excited by the club’s capture of N’Zogbia and the skipper admits he would much rather play alongside the French international than against him.

Speaking ahead of Villa’s opening Barclays Asia Trophy tie against Blackburn today (11am BST), Petrov said: “He’s an exceptional talent.

“I think he’s going to be an amazing signing for Aston Villa.

“I think he’s a player who has improved so much in the last couple of years and we will be glad to have him in our team.

“He brings something special. Like the manager says he’s a very explosive player.

“He likes to take people on and when you have a player like that it takes a lot of pressure off the team. We hope that the deal goes through.”

Petrov recalls the 25-year-old capping a dazzling performance with a goal during Villa’s 1-1 draw against Wigan at Villa Park late last season.

“He’s been very difficult for us to play against,” he said.

“Every time he’s faced us he’s torn us apart. We’ve been finding him very dangerous to play against and I think every player who has played against him would find him the same way.

“He’ll be an exciting signing for us. I think he’s a man a lot of big clubs have been chasing.