Aston Villa goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo is reportedly heading towards an exit from the club as he’s in advanced talks to join Celtic.
The 22-year-old joined us at youth level in 2018, and although he hasn’t been able to make a breakthrough in the first-team squad to date, he has impressed on loan at Ayr Utd, Burton Albion and most recently Exeter City.
READ MORE: Villa tipped to complete signing early next week as details touted
Sinisalo has also been capped three times by Finland as he appears to have a bright future ahead of him, and he would have benefited from the opportunity and experience of training alongside more senior figures at Villa during his time with us.
However, with Emiliano Martinez firmly established as our first-choice shot-stopper for the foreseeable future, and with Robin Olsen being joined by Joe Gauci in January in providing competition and depth, Sinisalo’s path to featuring at senior level looks complicated and highly unlikely, and so an exit was expected this summer.
According to the Athletic, the Finnish international is in advanced talks with Celtic and looks set to complete a move to the Scottish giants, although no fee is touted as of yet.
Given he has just a year remaining on his current Villa contract though, it’s unlikely to be a significant figure, but it’s a move that makes sense for all concerned as he’ll hope to play a more prominent role, while Villa will pocket a fee for an Academy product which will help balance our books.
It’s been a busy summer already with a number of incomings and outgoings, as not only is Unai Emery strengthening his squad with key reinforcements, but we’re also having to be savvy in the transfer market when it comes to selling youth players to balance our spending for PSR.
While it’s a shame to likely now see Sinisalo move on given he has been in and around the club for some time, it’s a sensible decision all round, provided that the deal now goes through as touted.