Aston Villa snap up Portuguese hitman in pre-contract agreement
In a bizarre turn of events, Aston Villa have agreed to sign former Sporting Lisbon striker, Yannick Djalo, on a free transfer when January window opens.
The forward was thought to have clinched a summer deadline day switch from Lisbon to Ligue 1 side, OGC Nice. However the deal went through too late and the transfer was rejected by FIFA.
After several appeals, Djalo was told that he would be ineligible to play for the French outfit until January 2012 when the winter window opened.
As a result, the 25 year-old returned to The Lions where he was expected to continue playing as normal following the transfer meltdown.
However, the Portuguese side have gone from receiving £4m from Nice for the player’s services to allowing him leave on a free transfer, and one can only suspect that a breakdown in the club/player relationship is to blame.
Djalo isn’t exactly prolific in front of goal, with a record of 23 goals in 98 for Lisbon, however his talent will surely be appreciated given his nominal fee.
The forward has represented the Portuguese national side on one occasion, and will give Alex McLeish another option up front as considerable back-up to Darren Bent and Gabriel Abonglahor when his deal goes through in the New Year.
