Here we go! Aston Villa agree deal to sell full-back to Premier League club

Aston Villa left-back Alex Moreno is on the verge of a move to Premier League rival Nottingham Forest. Fabrizio Romano has this evening confirmed that the Spanish full-back is in line to join Forest on an initial loan deal with the option to buy.

Having signed Ian Maatsen from Chelsea for a fee of £37.5 million this summer, Moreno has fallen down the pecking order and with Villa needing to get players off their books in order to bring in new signings, Moreno was an obvious choice to leave. There has been a lot of interest in the 31-year-old this summer from the likes of Real Betis, Sevilla, Villareal and Valencia but it is Forest who have clinched a deal.

Moreno was signed by Unai Emery in January 2023 from Real Betis for a fee of €13.5 million. He quickly made an impact in the Premier League and his speed and crossing ability down the left-hand side was a hugely important weapon in the Villa attack. His partnership with Jacob Ramsey down the left-hand side in the second half of the 2022/23 season was a key reason for Villa qualifying for Europe for the first time in over forty years.

However, Moreno suffered an injury in the penultimate game of that season in the 1-1 draw away to Liverpool which kept him sidelined for several months. In that time, Lucas Digne filled the gap and performed excellently to guide Villa to a place in the top three at Christmas. Moreno briefly returned to the team but further injuries limited his opportunities to play and when he did it was deemed that Digne was the better option due to his impressive form.

Moreno will leave Villa having played 48 times for the club, scoring three goals and producing three assists.

His departure alongside the sale of Cameron Archer and the imminent sale of Diego Carlos will allow Villa the room to bring in a new defender and potentially a new man in the forward line too. Feyenoord captain Lutsharel Geertruida is likely to be lined up as a new signing in defence.

UTV