Aston Villa only brought AC Milan loanee Pepe Reina back to the Premier League in January – but the goalkeeper’s future remains in Serie A.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Pepe Reina has made it clear that he won’t be playing for Dean Smith when the 2020/21 season kicks off, admitting that he plans to see out the final year of his contract at AC Milan during an Instagram Q&A.
After six years away, a former Liverpool goalkeeper made a shock return to the Premier League during the January transfer window. But Reina would be forgiven for wishing he had stayed at the San Siro instead.
After all, it’s fair to say that a spell between the sticks at Aston Villa hasn’t exactly worked out. Then again, what did he expect considering that the relegation-threatened Midland giants have comfortably the worst defensive record in the division?
Reina produced a heroic display against Tottenham Hotspur, only to end up on the losing side thanks to a 94th minute Bjorn Engels howler. The World Cup winner himself was to blame last time out, however, setting Leicester on their way to a 4-0 thrashing with a high-profile error of his own.
So even if Villa do avoid the drop, don’t expect the 37-year-old to stick around.
“After the loan to Aston Villa I have to go back (to Milan),” says Reina, the former Napoli, Valencia and Bayern Munich glovesman. “The idea is to see out the last year of the contract that I have left.”
That does not mean, however, that Villa will need to bring a replacement to the club over the summer. Tom Heaton and Jed Steer will return from injury eventually while Orjan Nyland offered a timely reminder of his talents during some exceptional displays in the run to the EFL Cup final.
And then there is young Finn Viljami Sinisalo, who has been tipped by some as a future number one at Villa Park.
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