Unai Emery has already been told what to expect from Victor Lindelof as Aston Villa open talks
Former Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof is on the verge of signing for Aston Villa on a free transfer.
Unai Emery wants to reinforce his defence after Ezri Konsa’s red card against Newcastle exposed Villa’s with lack of squad depth at centre-back.
With Villa having to comply with UEFA rules, the free transfer of the Swedish defender would not be an issue, as Villa have opened contract talks with Lindelof.
Lindelof joined Manchester United in 2017, and despite being mixed signing for the club, he stayed with the Red Devils for eight years, with his contract expiring this summer.
Jose Mourinho’s verdict on Aston Villa-bound Victor Lindelof
In 2019, Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United manager at the time. was critical of some aspects of Lindelof’s game, but full of praise in other ways.
He said: “As Gary Neville was saying and totally right, Lindelof is very, very good in some aspects of the game.
“But he can be bullied one-on-one in the box, he’s not especially good in the air, and Maguire has that kind of presence and physicality that is very, very important.”
Lindelof was one of the key centre-backs at Manchester United for many years, although in recent times he has been seen as a squad player.
- Made 284 appearances for Manchester United
- Won the FA Cup and Carabao Cup with the club
- Has played 71 times for Sweden
Whilst he is not known for his aerial strength, Lindelof does bring a lot of Premier League experience for Villa, as they still await their first win of the season.
- Read more: Aston Villa agree personal terms for record-breaking attacker, he’s in Birmingham for medical
Emi Martinez exit means more change for Aston Villa backline
With Martinez and Konsa serving suspensions for the Newcastle and Brentford games, Emery has had to chop and change his defence in between those two games.
Things could become very different as Martinez nears a move to Manchester United.
This doesn’t come as a shock to Villa fans following Martinez’s emotional reaction after Villa’s final home match of last season, and Villa are moving swiftly to find a replacement, with Villa opening talks to sign Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
Despite the fact that Martinez’s presence is irreplaceable around the club, Costa, Portugal’s number one, is a brilliant goalkeeper who is also know for his penalty-saving heroics.
Sign up for the Villa News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Aston Villa news sent straight to your phone.