Yannick Bolasie turned down a move to Middlesbrough on geographical reasons before securing a loan switch to Aston Villa from Everton, according to journalist Graeme Bailey.
The Gambling Times writer claims on his personal Twitter account that the 29-year-old winger, who was confirmed to have joined the Villans’ on a season-long loan from the Premier League outfit, chose the midlands rather than the north east in what proved to be the crucial factor in his departure from Merseyside.
Yannick Bolasie completes his move to Aston Villa. Turned down Middlesbrough purely down to geographical reasons… https://t.co/SJAtIdw0Z9
— Graeme Bailey (@GraemeBailey) August 25, 2018
The attacker, who has experience of playing in all four of England’s league divisions, joins fellow winger Anwar El Ghazi as a temporary capture for Villa, with the deadline for loans coming at the end of the month.
Opinion
Those at Villa Park would have hoped that it was their footballing ambitions, or their rich history, which convinced Bolasie to make the move to the club, but it turns out it is simply where they are based. While that might be disappointing to hear, it does not matter one iota because they still got him over the line at the expense of rivals and table toppers Middlesbrough. It is definitely something of a coup for Bruce and his men, and if being based near Birmingham is the wildcard they have to play to trump other second tier sides, then so be it. Now it is up to the player to prove he made the right decision by playing a key role in the Villans’ push for promotion, although supporters might have to wait a while to see him in action after having missed out on much of Everton’s pre-season preparations due to Marco Silva’s reluctance to make use of him.