Aston Villa are close to signing free agent goalkeeper Dimitar Sheytanov, according to Bulgarian outlet Sportal.
The publication claims that Dean Smith’s side are on the verge of bringing the shot-stopper in on a free after his Levski Sofia contract expired.
The 19-year-old had previously had a trial with Villa’s Championship rivals Leeds United in the summer, but no permanent deal was agreed with the Whites.
Villa have already signed ‘keeper Lovre Kalinic this month, while first choice Orjan Nyland recently went down with a ruptured Achilles in training.
Good move for Aston Villa?
It’s always good to recruit fresh, young talent and Sheytanov is obviously someone that English clubs have had an eye on for a while. The fact that no deal was agreed with Leeds in the summer perhaps suggests that the 19-year-old isn’t quite up to scratch – particularly given Leeds’ goalkeeping troubles this campaign, but it’s worth Villa bringing him in on a free in order to see what he can do. Kalinic will likely man the sticks for the first team, with stopper Jed Steer recalled from loan in order to back him up, so Sheytanov will probably represent the Villans U-23’s team in the short term. It was inevitable that there would be a goalkeeping reshuffle at Villa Park after Nyland’s injury and this is the latest step in that.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10
Likely to happen?
As far as this report goes it certainly seems as if the signing is pretty much done. The player is available on a free so there’s no reason why this one shouldn’t be completed in short order.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10