Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of Alex Moreno from Real Betis, and boss Unai Emery has revealed his delight over his new arrival.
Moreno, 29, arrives at Villa off the back of an impressive stint with Betis, where he has continued to display his defensive and attacking qualities.
READ MORE: Villa complete first Emery signing in deal worth touted €13m
With six goals and 14 assists in 122 appearances for the club, he has shown an ability to deliver in the final third to go with his defensive attributes, and Emery will no doubt hope to see him flourish in both phases of the game in a Villa shirt moving forward.
It’s the first signing of the Emery era, and the Villa boss shared his initial thoughts on the move after it was officially confirmed by the club. He will no doubt now relish integrating his first reinforcement into the squad and potentially get him ready to be available for selection against Leeds Utd on Friday night.
“Álex is a good player that can help our squad,” he said, as per the club’s official site. “He has been one of the top left-backs in La Liga over the past few seasons and we are delighted to have him here.”
It remains to be seen if Moreno is ready for an immediate debut this week, but there is no doubt that he will be a key addition to the Villa squad given his qualities and experience at a high level.
Interestingly, while he can operate as either a left-back or in a more advanced role on the left flank, Emery did specifically note in his comment above how he has been one of the best left-backs in La Liga in recent years, and so that is possibly an insight into how he intends on using him.
That means additional competition for Lucas Digne and Ludwig Augustinsson, and that can only be a good thing for Villa as we need to continue to improve the level of the squad to start competing where we want to be.
As per the tweet below, Villa also confirmed Moreno will take the No.15 shirt number, and there will no doubt be an exciting wait now to get a first glimpse at what he will bring to the team as he’ll certainly be itching to get on the pitch at Villa Park and get this new chapter in his career underway.
Squad number confirmed. ✅@AlexMoreno will wear the #️⃣1️⃣5️⃣ shirt for Aston Villa! 👊
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 11, 2023
