Aston Villa appear to be closing in on the signing of Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot after he arrived in the UK to finalise his move.
The 34-year-old was a key figure for the Ligue 1 side last season, making 41 appearances across all competitions while conceding 68 goals and keeping 12 clean sheets.
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With experience at a high level, including in the Champions League last year, the Dutch shot-stopper has established himself as a solid option between the posts, and it appears as though he could be starting a new chapter in his career at Villa next season.
According to Sky Sports’ Zinny Boswell, Bizot arrived in the UK on Sunday as he closes in on a move to join us, with the expectation that he will finalise personal terms and undergo a medical in the coming days to complete the switch.
That said, the transfer is not yet secured and so we’ll wait for further updates, but it looks as though Unai Emery is set to bring in a new No.2 goalkeeper after Robin Olsen’s departure at the start of the month when his contract expired.
Albeit he didn’t always entirely convince, the Swedish stalwart was an experienced and highly-rated presence in the Villa squad, providing us with cover behind Emiliano Martinez to fill in when needed.
In turn, it was important that we addressed that void sooner rather than later, and hopefully Bizot will be part of the squad for most of our pre-season preparations and friendlies to get settled and begin his adaptation process.
Meanwhile, there is still a sense of uncertainty over Martinez’s future as although no official bids have been received by Villa, speculation continues to raise question marks over his future and a potential exit from the club this summer.
While Bizot fills one important void, time will tell if Villa will have to go back into the transfer market for another goalkeeper this summer, or if our possible incoming new recruit will serve as back-up to Martinez next season.
Further, after a quiet start to the summer, perhaps this will be the first of a few new additions in the coming weeks as we look to strengthen the squad where possible.
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