Villa sign Lindelof & near Elliott and Sancho loans

Aston Villa have completed one transfer on deadline day and are nearing two more

Aston Villa have signed former Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof on a two-year contract and are closing in on loan deals for Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho.

Sweden captain Lindelof, 31, was a free agent, with his United contract having expired at the end of last season.

United winger Sancho, 25, turned down a move to Roma earlier in the window, while there has also been interest from fellow Italian side Juventus.

Liverpool's 22-year-old midfielder Elliott, meanwhile, is nearing a move which includes an obligation to buy for £35m.

Both Sancho and Elliott are now at Villa to complete medicals and the formalities of their loan moves.

United sources say Aston Villa will pay 80% of Sancho's wages, while there are easily achievable bonuses which should bring the total up to 100%.

Sancho has spent the past 18 months on loan at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea but neither club made the deal permanent.

Chelsea paid a £5m penalty to United for reneging on an obligation to sign the England attacker.

Elliott has played just once for Liverpool this season, making a brief appearance from the bench in their Premier League game against Newcastle.

In June, he said he does not want to be "wasting years" in his career and would consider his Liverpool future.

He was limited to 18 Premier League appearances as Liverpool won the title last season, 16 of them as a substitute.

In comparison, he made 53 appearances, including 27 starts, in the 2023-24 campaign when he scored four goals and provided 11 assists.

Analysis: Villa needed reinforcements

It did not matter whether they came on deadline day or before, but Aston Villa needed reinforcements.

Sunday's 3-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace - their first Premier League loss at Villa Park in 12 months - exposed frailties in the squad.

Villa have failed to score in their opening three Premier League games, earning just a point and lacking the energy which has been associated with Unai Emery's side.

There has been a worrying drop-off, hastening the need for reinforcements amid the backdrop of a tricky financial picture with Villa needing to abide by profit and sustainability rules.

Late deals were always going to happen this summer, the Under-21 European Championship and the Club World Cup pushing back moves. So when Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho arrive - in addition to Victor Lindelof - it needs to be seen as good business, rather than late business.

Elliott took his big moments to shine during the European Championship in Slovakia, scoring once in the quarter-final, a double in the semi-final and the opener in the final against Germany - winning the player of the tournament award.

He is respectful and mature and at just 22 has an extraordinary amount of experience, having won the Premier League, the EFL Cup twice, the Super Cup and two Under-21 European Championships.

Elliott's only issue at Anfield was the lack of game time. He has nothing to prove and will add class and guile to a Villa team who have looked lifeless early in the season.

Sancho, in contrast, seems to be entering another phase of trying to prove he can be a top performer in the Premier League.

Emery harnessed Marcus Rashford's ability and managed to help him return to the England squad during a loan from Manchester United last season.

Given Sancho's fall from grace it would take some revival for him to return to the Three Lions set-up and he needs to find the right home.

The end of a fractured relationship for Sancho at United?

It remains to be seen whether this marks the end of Sancho's association with United.

The Red Devils have an option on Sancho's contract, which expires at the end of the season, to take it to 2027.

But what seemed such an exciting arrival from Dortmund after England's Euro 2020 final appearance has turned into a massive disappointment. He has made 83 United appearances but only one - in the 2024 Community Shield - since August 2023.

Prior to that, he missed three months after being sent away to train in the Netherlands by Erik ten Hag who felt Sancho's mental and physical state was not right, with the pair having a public falling-out after Ten Hag criticised Sancho's training performances.

Sancho spent four months training on his own before he returned to Dortmund on loan, playing a significant role in their run to the 2024 Champions League final, where they were beaten by Real Madrid.

United's then sporting director Dan Ashworth brokered an uneasy peace between player and manager that allowed Sancho to go on last summer's tour to the USA and make a seven-minute Community Shield appearance.

But that was simply a sticking plaster being applied to a major wound.

Sancho wanted out of Old Trafford, and United did not want Sancho around either. Chelsea took him back to his south London roots, but that also failed to work out.