News broke this morning that Aston Villa are close to signing Ludwig Augustinsson on a loan deal from Seville with an option to buy.
There has been plenty of talk over the summer that Villa wanted to bring in someone to compete with Lucas Digne for that left-back position following Matt Targett’s departure to Newcastle.
Steven Gerrard spoke about wanting options in all positions and with this signing, that would complete his jigsaw. Obviously, the manager stated in a recent interview that he wanted another midfielder in but I can’t see us buying someone here just for the sake of it.
Anyway, back to the matter in hand, Augustinsson. I can’t say I know too much about him other than he used to be a bargain signing on Football Manager. Yes, I am an ‘FM boffin‘.
So, who is Augustinsson?
The left-back has 45 caps for Sweden and will be the second Swede, should he sign, to join Villa this summer following the permanent arrival of Robin Olsen.
He signed for Sevilla last summer in a deal said to be worth around £10 million and made 25 appearances in all competitions so the decision to allow him to depart on loan seems a strange one for me.
The 28-year-old started his career with IF Brommapojkarna, followed by spells with IFK Göteborg, F.C. Copenhagen and Werder Breman.
Whoscored.com state that his strengths include crossing, set-pieces and defensive contribution. Sounds positive for a full-back.
The deal for me sounds like a decent one for Villa. No massive initial outlay and an experienced international who is happy to come in and give Digne a run for his money.
