Our January capture of former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina on a loan spell from AC Milan left many fans with mixed feelings on the move. Although we had lost Jed Steer and Tom Heaton to injury, Orjan Nyland had stepped up and impressed and 37-year-old Reina himself had been somewhat inconsistent over his six appearances before football was cancelled.
It was believed originally that we had an automatic buy clause written into the loan but that was dependent on us avoiding relegation.
Will Reina Be A Loss Next Season?
Yes
No
In a recent Instagram Live (via The Mirror) with the Spanish stopper, he seemed to rubbish suggestions that he would remain in Birmingham for the next season or two, insisting he had to return to AC Milan and then he would likely be looking to retire and take up a future coaching career.
“After the loan spell with Aston Villa, I have to go back. I think it will be tough. I have 1-2 years left in my career. I think my time in football will end after next year in Milan. You never know in the future, but as a player I won’t have a chance. As a coach, who knows.”
It’s not the first time Reina has commented that he expects to return to Milan when the season came to an end and whilst plenty might consider him decent backup to Heaton moving forward, we are well stocked in the goalkeeping department so something has to give on numbers – regardless of what our 2019/20 future holds.
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Although I like Reina as a player, he has been yet another example of short termism that seems to have plagued Villa’s recruitment choices in recent seasons. I understand why we chose the Spaniard when we did, but we regularly have opted for the old timer to patch up the squad.
I read Sarkic will likely move on and there must be doubts whether O’Hare will stay. It is arguable whether either or both would cut it in the Premier League, but if we do go down, as many outsiders pray, I hope the squad will include a couple of younger players next year. Barry and Ramsey readily come to mind. Maybe Wright or even Philogene-Bidace might offer more on the flanks than Jota and Trezeguet; who knows.
The transition of our youngsters to the senior squad has been dire in recent memory. Either the academy structure is wrong or management has remained so desperate that they have been completely averse to taking a chance. It does us no good in the long run.