Aston Villa have confirmed that Diego Carlos has sealed a move to join Fenerbahce, in a deal reportedly worth around €10m.
The 31-year-old joined us from Sevilla in July 2022 and went on to make 58 appearances for the club, with his spell at Villa Park unfortunately disrupted by injury, particularly in his first campaign with us after he suffered a ruptured Achilles.
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Carlos was often used as a back-up option by Unai Emery when he opted for a change in set-up in defence with Ezri Konsa shifted to right-back, and the Brazilian centre-half certainly produced some stand-out performances.
However, his time at Villa has now come to an end, as the club’s statement confirms that he has joined Fenerbahce, with reports suggesting that the fee is around €10m.
Ahead of turning 32 in March, and given his contract had 18 months remaining on it, it’s a sensible decision from Villa to offload Carlos now for a decent fee, rather than running the risk of getting little back either this summer or him leaving for free next year.
Further, taking into consideration his injury record and history of errors when in the side, there has long been an argument that we can improve and upgrade in that department, and having now confirmed his sale with speculation of an exit dating back to last summer, Villa will no doubt move forward with their pursuit of a replacement.
One is certainly needed given Pau Torres is currently sidelined by injury, which leaves us with just Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa as our only senior options available, and so while Carlos was important as depth, we’ll hopefully bring in a younger talent with more room to grow both his potential and value, who can provide a more reliable option and better suits Emery’s way of playing.
Carlos deserves credit though for his role in our progression over the past two years as he certainly played his part, but it feels like the right time for both parties to move on, and we wish him well in Turkey where he will undoubtedly have a more prominent role under Jose Mourinho.