André Moreira to be an Aston Villa player this season - if history doesn't repeat itself

Aston Villa are to complete the signing of Atletico Madrid goalkeeper André Moreira on a season-long loan.

The loan deal will also include an optional future fee clause for Aston Villa, who can sign the 22-year old goalkeeper on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

Moreira endured a frustrating loan spell at Braga at the start of last season, where he failed to make a league appearance for the Europa League perennials, and as a result did not see his time at the Minho continue beyond January 2018.

He was subsequently loaned to fellow Primeira Liga side Belenenses for the remainder of the season, and played a total of 10 league games for the Lisbon side.

The imposing goalkeeper, who was close to joining Sporting this summer as part of the Gelson Martins transfer to Atletico Madrid, will follow many of his compatriots to the English Championship, where the likes of Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota took the step down in division to join Wolverhampton Wanderers in England's second tier last season.

Moreira, like many of the players that have joined Wolves in recent seasons, is also a Jorge Mendes client, and could signal the start of an emerging trend at Villa, who saw their West Midlands rivals gain promotion to the Premier League last campaign after they brought in several Gestifute client.

However, while a transfer to Aston Villa is all but finalised, it should be noted that Moreira was very much expected to be signing for Benfica only last summer, training at the club and even completing a medical with them, but an agreement was never reached with Atletico Madrid, meaning he instead was sent out on loan to Braga at the last minute.