AC Milan are set to lose Pepe Reina to Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season, and have targeted Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to replace the Spaniard goalkeeper.
Reina has agreed to join Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season with the option of a further year. The 37 years old has been with the Serie A side since 2018 after joining from Napoli and has played 13 games. He has served mainly as back-up to Italian number one Gianluigi Donnarumma.
It is understood that Reina misses the Premier League and the Spaniard is eager to return to competitive action after been with Liverpool for six years. Reina believes he can still perform at top level and a return to England is imminent with Villans manager Dean Smith desperate for a goalkeeper to take the place of first-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton suffered a season-ending injury.
Talks between the two clubs had been going on for a few days and it has been confirmed that Reina has agreed a deal to head to Villa Park for the remainder of the season. The Spaniard is expected to arrive in Birmingham on Monday for his medical at Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Begovic, who is expected in Italy on Sunday for a medical, joined Bournemouth in 2017 from Chelsea after previous spells with Portsmouth and Stoke. The Bosnia international has returned to the Premier League club after spending the first half of the season on loan in Azerbaijan with FK Qarabag. He was sent on loan after falling down the pecking order at Dean Court behind Artur Boruc.
Begovic’s contract runs out in June 2021 and will have to consider whether he wants to be a backup for Donnarumma. The 32-year-old trained with the Cherries this week but his stay might not be a long one with Milan trying to take him to Italy.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Begovic would be Milan’s first choice but other candidates for the role include Burnley keeper Joe Hart and Lukasz Fabianski of West Ham.
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe admitted at his Friday news conference that Begovic might head out on loan again. He said: “I don’t know. I think that’s a situation where things may change, but at the moment he’s part of our group and he’s training very well.”
