Aston Villa’s transfer window has been a slow burner so far but deals are now coming thick and fast.
The only signing Unai Emery has made so far is Kosta Nedeljkovic, an 18-year-old right-back from Red Star Belgrade who will spend the second half of the season in Serbia.
That, however, is about to change.
After seeing three bids get rejected for Middlesbrough’s Morgan Rogers, Villa’s £8 million bid – that could rise to £16 million if add-ons are reached – got accepted.
The 21-year-old will complete his medical today, as per Fabrizio Romano, and will sign a five-year contract at Villa Park.
It’s been a long and drawn-out process to land their primary target, but Emery can be delighted that a deal is nearing completion, and he can now move on to other targets.
One of those is a highly-rated goalkeeper.
Aston Villa ‘closing in’ on Adelaide United goalkeeper Joe Gauci
Villa weren’t desperate to sign a goalkeeper in this window, especially when other positions were more pressing.
But after loaning out Filip Marschall to MK Dons, Emery was only left with two senior goalkeepers, Emiliano Martinez and Robin Olsen.
The Spaniard has scoured the market to find a long-term replacement for 34-year-old Olsen who can rival Martinez in the future.
At first, it looked as though Villa were going to sign 22-year-old Hakon Valdimarsson but Premier League rivals Brentford beat them to his signature.
Now, it appears Emery is closing in on a different goalkeeper.
According to Sky Sports News, Villa are close to signing Adelaide United shot-stopper Joe Gauci.
The 23-year-old is currently playing at the Asia Cup with Australia and will feature as an understudy to Villa’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper.
A sensible signing for Aston Villa
Forward planning is a key ingredient that goes towards creating success.
Villa know that their goalkeeper position is secure with Martinez, but the Argentine’s backup is less than convincing.
Of course, Olsen has rarely put a foot wrong when given the chance, however, a long-term solution is needed for the ageing Swede and Gauci could provide that.
Gauci is used to playing as an understudy. For Australia, he’s had to deal with the immovable object of Matt Ryan who has been the country’s designated number one since 2014.
He knows the hardships of breaking into the first team and while a similar narrative will play out at Villa Park, there aren’t many better goalkeepers on the planet to learn from than Martinez.
After all, he is a World Cup winner and was ranked as the best in the world in last year’s Ballon D’Or ceremony.
