Villa sign Lindelof & near Elliott and Sancho loans

Victor Lindelof, a former defender for Manchester United, and Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho are both closing in on loan deals with Aston Villa.

At the end of last season, Sweden’s captain, 31-year-old Lindelof, had left his United contract.

Sancho, a 25-year-old United winger, turned down a move to Roma earlier in the window, and fellow Italian side Juventus has also shown an interest.

Meanwhile, Elliott, a 22-year-old midfielder for Liverpool, is about to make a move that includes a $35 million purchase.

Sancho and Elliott are currently at Villa to finish their loan applications and paperwork.

According to United sources, Aston Villa will pay 80% of Sancho’s wages, with respect to bonuses that are reasonably possible that will bring the total to 100%.

Sancho has spent the last 18 months on loan at Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, but neither club has made a permanent commitment.

United were fined £5 million by Chelsea for breaking their contract to sign the England international.

In their Premier League game against Newcastle, Elliott made just one appearance for Liverpool this season.

He stated in June that he would take his Liverpool future into account and that he did not want to be “wasting years” in his career.

As Liverpool won the title last year, he was only allowed to make 18 Premier League appearances, 16 of which came as a substitute.

Aston Villa needed reinforcements, not whether they arrived on deadline day or before.

The squad’s frailties were exposed by Sunday’s 3-0 home loss to Crystal Palace, their first Premier League defeat at Villa Park in a year.

In their first three Premier League games, Villa have only earned a point and lack the energy that has been hallmark of Unai Emery’s side.

A worrying decline has resulted in the need for reinforcements in the wake of Villa’s commitment to profit and sustainability regulations.

This summer, pushing back moves were always going to happen, as were the Under-21 European Championship and the Club World Cup. Therefore, it needs to be seen as good business rather than late business when Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho arrive, in addition to Victor Lindelof.

Elliott won the player of the tournament award after scoring twice in the quarter-final, a double in the semi-final, and the opener against Germany in the final.

He has won the Premier League, the EFL Cup twice, the Super Cup, and two Under-21 European Championships and is a mature and respectful 22-year-old with a lot of experience.

The lack of game time at Anfield was Elliott’s only gripe. He lacks any evidence, but he will give a Villa team that looked lifeless at the start of the season class and guile.

Sancho, in contrast, appears to be moving up a gear in his quest to establish his ability to perform best in the Premier League.

When Marcus Rashford was on a loan from Manchester United last year, Emery successfully utilized his ability to make a comeback in the England squad.

Is it still unclear whether Sancho’s association with United will end.

Sancho’s contract expires at the end of the season, but the Red Devils have the option to extend it to 2027.

After England made it to the Euro 2020 final, what seemed like such a promising arrival from Dortmund has turned out to be a complete disappointment. Since August 2023, he has made 83 United appearances, with the exception of one in the 2024 Community Shield.

Prior to that, he missed three months after Erik ten Hag sent him away from Sancho to train in the Netherlands because he thought Sancho’s mental and physical state was unacceptable. The pair had a public disagreement after Ten Hag criticized Sancho’s training results.

Sancho spent four months of independent training before returning to Dortmund on loan, where he had a significant role in their 2024 Champions League triumph over Real Madrid.

Sancho was able to travel to the USA for seven minutes on the previous summer’s tour and make a seven-minute Community Shield appearance after United’s then sporting director Dan Ashworth brokered an uneasy agreement between the player and manager.

However, that was nothing more than applying a large amount of sticking plaster.