Aston Villa’s Moreno to join Nottingham Forest on loan as Richards moves to Portugal

Aston Villa left-back Alex Moreno will undergo a medical at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday ahead of joining on loan. 

Moreno, who can also play as a left winger, had fallen behind Lucas Digne and £37.5million summer signing Ian Maatsen in the pecking order at Villa Park.

Speaking after their 2-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, Villa manager Unai Emery revealed Moreno was ‘close to leaving’.

‘We signed Ian Maatsen and were speaking with different players in this position, now we have difficulties to manage with three specific left full-backs,’ Emery said. 

The 31-year-old moved to Villa from LaLiga outfit Real Betis in January 2023 and made an instant impact upon arrival, forming a promising partnership with Jacob Ramsey on the left flank.

But Moreno’s season was cut short when he suffered a hamstring injury against Liverpool on May 20.

Moreno did not return for Villa until November 30th in a Europa Conference League fixture against Legia Warsaw in which he scored the winner. 

The Spaniard has two years remaining on his Villa deal.

Moreno will compete with Ola Aina and Harry Toffolo for the starting role at left-back.

However, Aina had to be substituted early in Forest’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth with an injury.

Should Aina be forced out of the club’s clash against Southampton on August 24, Forest manager Nuno Esperito Santo will hope Moreno’s deal is completed in time so he can be named in the squad.

As for Forest’s outgoings, defender Omar Richards has gone on loan to Rio Ave in Portugal. 

Richards, who was on Bayern Munich’s books before moving to the City Ground in 2022, is yet to make an appearance for Forest.

The 26-year-old spent last season on loan at Olympiacos and made 14 appearances across all competitions for the Greek giants.

He will hope for more game time with Rio Ave, who finished 11th out of 18 teams in last season’s Liga Portugal.