The 25-year-old shot-stopper joined us from Adelaide United in January 2024, but he has played a bit-part role since as a depth option and has made just two appearances for the senior side.
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Having spent time out on loan at Barnsley last season, [Villa have now confirmed](https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2025/august/11/gauci-joins-port-vale-on-loan/) that the Australian international will spend the upcoming season on loan at Port Vale, where he’ll hope to have a prominent role, gain experience and continue to improve and develop his game.
Ultimately, it’s a sensible decision from Villa, as Gauci needs to play regularly and continue to prove himself as a long-term option with us, as he’s struggled to entirely convince in pre-season and sitting on the bench all year will not help him raise his level.
Instead, a loan stint at Port Vale will keep him active and help him develop, and hopefully he’ll return a much-improved player next summer ready to compete as part of our goalkeeper depth chart.
The expectation was that an exit was perhaps on the cards after the signing of Marco Bizot last month, with the Dutchman now providing reliable cover behind Emiliano Martinez as he’s quickly established himself as our No.2 goalkeeper.
In turn, that pushed Gauci back down the pecking order, and with his temporary departure now confirmed, it remains to be seen who will take up the role of third-choice goalkeeper at Villa, with a possible promotion for one of our youngsters on the cards or the club could look to add a veteran in the remaining weeks of the summer transfer window.
Either way, this is the right move for both Gauci and Villa’s long-term interests in the Australian ace, and so hopefully he’ll have a productive spell at Port Vale and it proves to be a successful decision.
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