Aston Villa sign Anwar El Ghazi

Aston Villa completed the signing of Anwar El Ghazi today in a deal said to be worth £8.1million.

El Ghazi joined Villa on loan from Lille last season and helped Villa with their return to the Premiership. The winger scored during Villa’s 2-1 win over Derby County last month at Wembley.

Club career

El Ghazi began his career in the youth ranks at his local club, BVV Barendrecht. He had spells with Feyenoord, Spartaan ’20 and Sparta Rotterdam before joining the Ajax Youth Academy in 2013.

During a three year spell in Amsterdam, the 24-year-old scored 20 goals in 70 appearances. He was rated as one of the hottest prospects in European football.

In January 2017, El Ghazi signed for French side Lille for a fee in the region of €8 million. He failed to make any real impact and was allowed to join Villa on loan during the 2018 summer.

What they said:

Manager Dean Smith stated:

“Anwar proved to everybody at Wembley how good a player he can be for Aston Villa.

“He’s ready for the step up to the Premier League and he’s a young player who has an awful lot of potential. It’s now my job and the job of the coaching staff and Anwar himself to fulfil the potential that he undoubtedly has.

“He’ll be a great addition to the squad for next season.”

El Ghazi expressed his delight by signing for Villa by tweeting “announce me” on his official Twitter page earlier today.

@AVFCOfficial announce me? 🤷‍♂️

— Anwar El Ghazi (@AElGhazi7) June 10, 2019