Borja Baston joins Aston Villa

Borja Baston has joined Aston Villa on a free transfer from Swansea City in the final minutes of the January window, the club have confirmed.

Villa lost the services of Wesley to an ACL injury, and the striker isn’t expected back until the start of the next season. They therefore spent the transfer window hunting for a replacement, and several names have been mentioned as potential candidates. That list reportedly included Odion Ighalo, who ended up joining Manchester United on loan having been turned down by Villa.

In the end, it’s the 27-year-old Spaniard who makes his way to Villa Park. Baston made 21 appearances for the Swans this season in all competitions, scoring six times. While on the books of Atletico Madrid, he spent 2014/15 on loan with Real Sociedad where he netted 23 times, and he backed that up with 18 strikes for Eibar the following season. It was apparently enough to convince Swansea to part with just over £15 million for his services in 2016.