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Aston Villa have secured Lille winger Anwar El Ghazi on a season long loan as he becomes the clubs fifth summer acquisition.
Words by Mark Jirobe (@VillaMarkPGH)
Aston Villa have secured winger Anwar El Ghazi on loan from Ligue 1 side Lille for the remainder of the season – with his former club confirming that Aston Villa have an option to buy at the end of it.
El Ghazi had this to say about joining Aston Villa:
“I am thrilled to join a football club of the size of Aston Villa.
I visited Villa Park late last night after flying in from Holland and it gave me goosebumps.
I can’t wait to get out there and experience it for real and play in front of such passionate fans.”
The 24 year old winger netted on four occasions for Lille last season and helping the cause with another four assists in 27 games played. The former Ajax man is rumored to have not settled into life in France as well as he would have hoped.
Steve Bruce must be delighted to get this loan signing across the line. There has been a lack of winger depth in the first team and El Ghazi will undoubtedly help to shore up that area of the pitch. El Ghazi can also play as a centre-forward when called upon.
El Ghazi’s agent is none other than Jorge Mendes, whom helped bring a lot of players to Wolverhampton last season. Mendes has already helped Aston Villa secure the services of Portuguese ‘keeper Andre Moreira from Atletico Madrid before the transfer window closed.
While El Ghazi will most likely challenge Andre Green for playing time, and that’s not a bad thing for either player. While Villa supporters may hope that El Ghazi can recapture his form from his days at Ajax, there is not question that El Ghazi has the ability to help out Aston Villa with his abilities.
There are stories linked to Lille that they must raise €30 million to fall in line with the French equivalent of Financial Fair Play. This could have been a determining factor of why Villa were able to get a valuable talent like El Ghazi in the doors of Villa Park.
Steve Bruce may have a few new players other than El Ghazi coming in before the end of the loan-window on August 31st. There have been constant rumours of Everton winger Yannick Bolasse and Southampton left-back Matthew Targett being linked to a loan-move to Aston Villa. If Villa can even slightly replicate the positive loan-ins of last season, all of the Claret & Blue faithful may be in for a real treat.
