Premier League definitely missed former Liverpool shot-stopper, Pepe Reina, as the AC Milan goalkeeper 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. 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 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 now John Percy has confirmed that Reina has agreed a deal to head to Villa Park for the remainder of the season, with a medical set for next week.
The 37-year-old keeper comes will plenty of experience having managed 285 Premier League appearances for Liverpool between 2005 and 2013. He has since spent time at Bayern Munich and Napoli.
Should the deal go through, 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.
