Aston Villa have reportedly reached an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain to sign Marco Asensio on loan for the rest of the season.
The 29-year-old joined the Ligue 1 giants in 2023 after a successful spell at Real Madrid, and he’s since gone on to score seven goals and provide 11 assists in 47 appearances for the club.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Wolves: Bitterly disappointing display ends in defeat
With Villa opting to allow both Jhon Duran and Emiliano Buendia to leave this week, Unai Emery required reinforcements in attack, and with Marcus Rashford set to join from Manchester United on loan, it looks as though we’re set to complete a double swoop over the next 48 hours.
As per Fabrizio Romano, an agreement has now been reached between Villa and PSG which will see Asensio join us on loan for the remainder of the campaign, and he’s set to travel to England on Sunday to undergo his medical and finalise the details of his switch.
He adds that Villa will cover the entirety of the Spaniard’s wages during his spell with us, and there is no option to buy included in the deal which means this is very much a temporary move to bolster our options in the final third before reassessing the situation in the summer.
Opinion will likely be split on Villa’s late activity in the January transfer window, as although these are necessary additions given we have voids to fill and must continue to improve the squad, it remains to be seen if these are late solutions that weren’t necessarily our priorities when the window opened.
Villa did move early to sign Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia, while we also sold Jaden Philogene and Diego Carlos, and so there has been a lot of movement over the past month as Emery looks to continue to stamp his mark on the group and continue to evolve his side to play his preferred way and be more competitive.
Should the double loan signings of Asensio and Rashford go through as expected, it’s hoped that they prove to be two decisive reinforcements for the rest of this season, as after our bitterly disappointing defeat to Wolves showed this weekend, we’re certainly lacking something still and have other areas to address before Monday night’s transfer deadline.
Aside from his technical ability and quality in the attacking third, Asensio will bring experience and a winning mentality given who he has played for and what he’s won over the course of his career, and hopefully that will help our younger players develop a winning culture at the club in the long run too.
if these signings go through,lets hope we can do a lot better in the final third.Watkins cannot do everything.Maybe Emery is looking at giving Rogers a rest too.A BIG worry is the defence,we most certainly need another centreback.Mings may never be the same again after his unfortunate injuries.Kamara has done his best,but he is definetly best in the defensive midfield area.I sense big changes coming in the summer.Lets all get behind the team for the rest of the season.UTV!!!!!!!