Aston Villa have confirmed that goalkeeper Filip Marschall has joined Stevenage in a permanent deal to end his spell with the club.
The 22-year-old came through our youth ranks and impressed as he helped us on our way to FA Youth Cup success in 2021, before enjoying loan spells at Gateshead, MK Dons and Crewe Alexandra.
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Although he was part of the senior squad for pre-season earlier this month, the expectation was that he was likely to move on permanently this summer, and Villa have now confirmed that a deal has been done with Stevenage.
While Marschall certainly looked a top talent with a bright future ahead of him having benefitted from a significant run training alongside the likes of Emiliano Martinez and gaining valuable experience out on loan, a permanent move elsewhere makes the most sense for both sides.
Villa have Martinez, Marco Bizot and Joe Gauci forming our goalkeeper unit for the season ahead, and so a move to Stevenage will hopefully give Marschall the opportunity to establish himself in a more prominent role and play more consistently to take his game to the next level.
It’s unclear what fee was involved in the deal, but the sale of another Academy product will no doubt help with the club’s financial position in some form, and so it remains to be seen if any further changes in that department are required this summer or if we’ll see the trio named above form Unai Emery’s options in the new season.
Speculation has linked Martinez with a departure this summer, but as of yet, no such exit has materialised, while Bizot will fill the void left behind by Robin Olsen after his contract expired last month.
As for Gauci, it certainly looks as though the path has been cleared for him to be our third-choice option, provided that both sides believe that’s the best thing for him this year, but we wish Marschall well and hope that the decision to sell him now proves to be the right choice for all concerned.
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