Official: Aston Villa sign £14m Morgan Sanson from Marseille

Emmet Gates

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Aston Villa have officially completed the signing of midfielder Morgan Sanson from Ligue 1 side Marseille on a four-and-a-half year deal.

It’s reported that the Premier League side will pay a fee in the region of £14 million for the 26-year-old, after he agreed to join the club on Tuesday.

Sanson arrived as the Birmingham outfit’s first signing of the January transfer window, following the arrival of Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Bertrand Traore, Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins in the summer.

Manager Dean Smith was delighted with the capture and said: “Morgan has performed consistently at the highest level in French football for a number of seasons as well as in this season’s Champions League, and is a player with the quality and experience to play in any midfield position. He will add real competition for starting places and gives us more squad depth which is vital to competing successfully in the Premier League.”

Meanwhile, Sanson added: “I’m really happy to be here. I’m very proud to join the Aston Villa Family, and in the future I hope we can do great things together.

“It’s a magical club, a big club in England. When Aston Villa called me, I didn’t have to think about it for a long time – it was the best opportunity for me and my career.”

The Frenchman has been at the French side since 2017, when he signed from Montpellier for a fee around the £10.5m (€12m) mark.

Whilst at Marseille, Sanson made a name for himself as a goalscoring box-to-box midfielder, netting 25 goals and providing 22 assists in all competitions during his four years at Stade Velodrome.

Sanson is also an expert at set pieces, with the majority of his assists coming from free kicks and corners.

Sanson is the club’s first signing in the January transfer window, and is an added boost to Smith’s thin squad, particularly in midfield.

Villa are currently eighth in the Premier League table and are pushing for the Europa League places. Moreover, the club have two games in hand on most of their rivals.