Aston Villa confirm loan departure of £13million man

Moreno had found himself pushed down the pecking order at Villa Park following the £37.5million signing of Ian Maatsen from Chelsea and has been allowed to depart, in a deal which also includes an option to buy.

The 31-year-old became Unai Emery’s first signing as Villa boss when he joined from Real Betis for £13m last year and featured prominently in his early months at the club.

But a serious hamstring injury suffered in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool toward the end of the 2022-23 season derailed his progress and he was limited to just 11 Premier League starts last season.

Emery had already confirmed Moreno was likely to depart after leaving the Spaniard out of the matchday squad for Saturday’s season opening win at West Ham. New boy Maatsen will now battle it out for the starting left-back spot with Lucas Digne.

Moreno becomes the latest senior player to leave, either permanently or on loan, during a busy summer which has so far seen the club spend more than £130m on new players but recoup a similar amount in sales.