Aston Villa have reportedly received a loan proposal from West Bromwich Albion to sign Samuel Iling-Junior on a temporary basis.
The 21-year-old arrived from Juventus last summer, but with competition for places fierce at Villa, he has since been sent out on loan to Bologna and Middlesbrough to gain experience and further develop his game.
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Although he has remained at the club throughout this summer, the expectation has been that he would eventually depart in another loan move before the transfer deadline on Monday, and now The Express and Star report that West Brom have emerged as a potential option, having submitted a loan offer to sign Iling-Junior.
It’s added that there is optimism over a deal being done, while there is said to be interest from elsewhere too, and so time will tell if an agreement is found for the talented youngster to make the short trip to the Hawthorns for the remainder of the campaign.
Ultimately, it’s a sensible move for him, as with his playing time likely to continue to be severely limited at Villa, it’s in the best interests of all concerned that he goes elsewhere temporarily, enjoys a more prominent role and comes back an improved player.
In turn, a decision will then be made next summer on the next step in his future, be it with us, or if West Brom pursue a permanent deal off the back a successful loan.
We’ve seen Villa utilise this strategy on a number of occasions now over the past two years as we develop young talent and sell on for a profit in order to help balance our books, and so it remains to be seen which path Iling-Junior eventually goes down as we look well set in the positions that he’s capable of playing in.
With a late flurry of speculation over incomings and outgoings, it looks as though Villa are set for a busy end to the summer transfer window with some more high-profile deals being done. However, this is one that should get over the line and prove to be a sensible piece of business from the club in the long run.
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