Aston Villa have confirmed that Alex Moreno has joined Nottingham Forest on loan for the rest of the season.
The 31-year-old has made 48 appearances for us since joining from Real Betis in January 2023, scoring three goals and providing three assists to go with his defensive duties.
READ MORE: Interest builds as Villa tipped to green light loan departure
However, he played a limited role last season due to ongoing injury setbacks at the start of the campaign, and although he still featured 29 times and made an important contribution to what was a memorable year, the summer signing of Ian Maatsen raised further doubts over his future.
There was a question mark over whether it would be him or Lucas Digne that left this summer, and after he wasn’t included in our matchday squad last weekend in our win over West Ham Utd, the club’s official statement has now confirmed that Moreno has moved on to join Nottingham Forest on loan.
It’s a disappointing development to see him leave, albeit temporarily, as such was the instant impact that he made and subsequently his popularity with supporters rose rapidly, it had been hoped that he would be a key figure for Unai Emery for the foreseeable future.
The Spaniard was a great fit for the system and style of play that the Villa boss was implementing, and when fit, he had cemented himself as the first-choice at left-back.
However, his injury setbacks have ultimately derailed his time with us, as he struggled to return to those levels since being sidelined with a serious hamstring injury at the back-end of the 2022/23 campaign, and he never really got back to his best form last season as a result.
It’s hoped that he now has a productive loan stint with Nottingham Forest, and time will tell what happens with his long-term future as it’s been suggested that there might be an option to buy clause included in the agreement for his loan move.
If that is the case and Moreno impresses at the City Ground, he’ll have perhaps played his last game for us already. It remains to be seen how the situation plays out though, as Villa may consider a reshuffle next summer if he does impress, with Maatsen likely to replace Digne in our starting line-up in the coming weeks.
