Aston Villa have signed Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen on loan from Roma until the end of the season.
The 32-year-old joins Villa having spent the first part of the campaign on loan at Sky Bet Championship side Sheffield United.
Sweden international Olsen had a spell at Everton last season, making seven Premier League appearances for the Toffees.
One free agent with Prem experience that each club must sign
“It was easy (the decision to join Villa). When I heard about it from my agent for the first time, I decided to do whatever I could to change club and sign for Villa,” Olsen said on www.avfc.co.uk.
“It was an easy choice from the first call I had from my agent.
“When you come to the car park and see the building (at Bodymoor Heath), you see that it’s a massive club.
“I’ve heard how good it is but when you’re inside and see the facilities, it’s amazing.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 18, 2022
“You have everything you need to improve yourself and be as good as you can be.”
Olsen will provide experienced back-up for Villa number one Emiliano Martinez.
“Emi is a really good goalkeeper and I think working with him will make me a better goalkeeper,” Olsen said.
“The level of the sessions will be high. Hopefully we can push each other to be better.”
Elsewhere, Gabon were “under pressure” from Arsenal to release Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from their African Cup of Nations squad, according to their head coach Patrice Neveu.
The forward has not featured for Arsenal since the start of December. He was stripped of the captain’s armband as a result of a disciplinary breach.
Aubameyang tested positive for Covid-19 in the lead up to the tournament. The 32-year-old has now been removed from Gabon’s squad and he is returning to Arsenal.
And Neveu has told Sky Sports that Gabon were “under pressure” from Mikel Arteta’s side to let Aubameyang return to England.
“What I know is that they’ve been Covid free for the last 72 hours. We couldn’t arrange an MRI for them, and as a result they couldn’t train,” Neveu said.
“It was really annoying for them to stay in their rooms. We made the decision yesterday with the President and under pressure from the clubs too, because they’re worried so that [Aubameyang] should go back to Arsenal and Mario [Lemina] back to Nice.”
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