Aston Villa have officially announced that AC Milan goalkeeper Pepe Reina has completed a loan move to the club for the rest of the season.
The 37 years old has been with the Serie A side since 2018 after joining from Napoli. He has, however, played 13 games and 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 England after playing for Liverpool for nine years between 2005 and 2014, winning four trophies – including the 2006 FA Cup – after joining from Villarreal.
Reina believes he can still perform at top level and Villans manager Dean Smith is desperate for a goalkeeper to take the place of first choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton suffered a season-ending injury. And he has swooped for experienced Spaniard Reina until the end of the season in his desperate bid to help Villa avoid the drop.
Villa announced the news via their official website, saying that the veteran goalkeeper would come to the Villa Park with lots of experience which would help the club in their fight for relegation.
Manager Dean Smith said: “We’ve managed to secure a player in Pepe who has a wealth of Premier League experience.
“At the start of the summer, we were looking for an experienced goalkeeper, and brought in Tom Heaton. Unfortunately, his injury has ruled him out for the rest of the season, but Pepe fits our criteria not just because of his experience, but also because of his leadership qualities.”
Pepe would be the second signing of the January transfer window for Villa after securing the services of Danny Drinkwater on a six month loan deal from Chelsea on Tuesday. Also, the club desperately needs a striker after losing record signing Wesley Moraes through injury which will keep out of the season.
To fill up the void left in their striking position, Villa are also interested in signing Reina’s Milan team-mate Krzysztof Piatek. The striker has fallen down the pecking order at the San Siro following the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and has been the subject of interest from Newcastle United and Tottenham.
Villa currently find themselves 17th in the league table, just one point clear of the relegation zone, and Smith is clearly looking to recruit experienced players who know what it takes to win game in the English top flight.
Aston Villa need all the help they can get now, after losing 6-1 at home to Manchester City on Sunday, with backup stopper Orjan Nyland in goal. Reina could now make his debut as early as Saturday, with Villa travelling to Brighton.
