Croatian number one goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic has become Aston Villa’s new goalkeeper with the Championship club sealing a £7million move.
So Aston Villa have a new goalkeeper and it is one they have wanted for a while.
Three years after work permit issues saw Lovre Kalinic’s move to Villa Park collapse, the Croatian number one has finally sealed his long-awaited move to the Second City with a deal that has been announced on Friday.
According to Sky Sports, Kalinic agreed a contract until 2023 and passed a medical with his £7 million move to become official on January 1.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is certainly pleased, praising an ‘outstanding goalkeeper’ who looks set to replace the unconvincing Orjan Nyland as Villa’s first choice between the sticks.
But how have Kalinic’s former club Gent reacted to his departure? Well, with a great deal of gratitude.
The 6ft 8ins shot-stopper will go down as a modern legend at Gent after all, having starred since joining the Belgian side from Hajduk Split back in 2017. Not only did Kalinic help Gent reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time, he was also named the Jupiler League’s Goalkeeper of the Year in his two full seasons at the club.
In total, Kalinic kept an impressive 29 clean sheets in 79 games.
“Lovre Kalinic will stay in our memory as a keeper who was unbeatable on high balls and with – despite his length – brilliant reflexes,” reads a statement on Gent’s official website.
“The facts speak for themselves.”
So do the plaudits.
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