Aston Villa are close to signing 19-year-old Arsenal prodigy Lino Sousa on a permanent transfer and will loan him out to Plymouth.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Aston Villa are set to sign Lino Sousa on a permanent basis from Arsenal and have agreed to a long-term contract. The 19-year-old Arsenal prodigy will then be allowed to join Plymouth Argyle on loan, as Unai Emery views the need to give him enough senior game time.
Aston Villa to sign Lino Sousa
Lino Sousa has had a great profile in the Arsenal youth teams and was often called into Mikel Arteta’s first team training sessions. He has also regularly accompanied the senior side on tours, and the Gunners fanbase believed he could have become a regular in the coming years.
The Portuguese-born England Under-19 left-back wanted to feature more in the senior side and may have agreed to leave the Gunners for that reason alone. As things stand, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Jakub Kiwior all occupy the first-team left-back slots, which would have made Sousa’s task difficult to break into the side.
Some Arsenal fans would have liked the club to loan him. But as things stand, Sousa is very close to completing his move to Aston Villa. The Midlands outfit have signed him on a permanent deal, with a contract until 2028 ready to be signed.
Villa will now send Sousa on a six-month loan to Plymouth Argyle until the end of the season to bring him up to speed. The club will hope the 19-year-old Arsenal prodigy will get enough game time to build his momentum and then return in the summer to contend for a first-team spot.
Aston Villa set for a busy end to the January window?
After being quiet for most parts of this month, Aston Villa have sprung into life in the latter days of the window. Aston VIlla have also signed Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough on a permanent deal, as Emery wanted a new attacker on board before the window shut.
Sousa will follow him shortly as things stand. But beyond that Aston Villa are unlikely to bring anyone else. In terms of departure, there are not many who are expected to leave the club in the last hours of the window.
