Aston Villa deserve a ton of credit for avoiding the drop from the Premier League. Dean Smith’s side spent the majority of the campaign in the bottom three but delivered when it mattered to retain their spot in the top flight.
The big task now for Smith is to strengthen his squad so that they don’t struggle again next season. The Villans need reinforcements all across the pitch, but they need to address areas where they have multiple options as well.
One such position is goalkeeper. Villa, unfortunately, lost Tom Heaton to a long-term injury midway through the season. The Englishman was ruled out for the rest of the campaign and Smith was forced to bring in Pepe Reina on loan from AC Milan.
The Spaniard joined Jed Steer and Orjan Nyland to provide cover for Heaton and, despite a shaky start, Reina ended the season pretty well with clean sheets against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
Nyland has had his issues in between the sticks while Steer, despite being part of Villa’s ranks since 2013, has played just 32 times for them in all competitions.
Heaton is expected to return for the start of the new season, which will almost certainly eliminate the duo’s chances of being the number one. As a result, both of them could choose to move on this summer leaving Smith to make a decision.
Villa will need to bring in a new backup and it looks like they have identified who they want to sign this summer.
CalcioMercato have claimed that Villa have offered Reina a two-year contract worth £1.8 million-per-season.
That makes a lot of sense considering the Villans are only looking for a second choice. Reina is hugely experienced in the Premier League, and his performances in the final few games of the season showed that he is still more than capable of doing a job.
Smith is a huge fan of the Spaniard. He heaped praise on Reina, calling him ‘the ultimate professional’ due to his attitude when the Villa boss had to drop him earlier this year. (Express and Star)
It will be interesting to see how much AC Milan will demand for him considering that Reina has 12 months left on his contract at the San Siro.
Reina is 37 already and he is nowhere near Gigi Donnarumma in the pecking order. The Italian giants would likely part ways with him for a small fee and Villa have no reason not to go through with the deal this summer.
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