Tears Full In Aston Villa Eyes As Former Arsenal Left-Back Loaned Out To Plymouth Argyle With…
The 19-year-old is making a move from the Emirates to Villa Park, having not made any senior appearances for the Gunners, who recruited him from the West Bromwich Albion academy in January 2022.
Sousa, an England Under-19 international, played a role in helping Arsenal reach the FA Youth Cup final last season and scored three goals in 14 youth-team games in the first half of the 2023-24 season.
Despite his contributions, the 2005-born defender never made a senior debut for Arsenal. His closest opportunity was being named on the bench for a Premier League win over Brentford in September 2022 and Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the third round of the FA Cup last month.
On Wednesday, reports indicated that Aston Villa was set to sign Sousa from Arsenal, and now the Lions have officially announced securing the talented teenager. Sousa will join former Arsenal boss Unai Emery at Villa. While the transfer fee remains undisclosed, Villa has clarified that Sousa will not immediately compete with Alex Moreno and Lucas Digne for playing time. Instead, he will spend the next few months honing his skills in the Championship.
Upon his arrival, Argyle head coach Ian Foster, a former England youth team coach, praised Sousa as a “really exciting player,” expressing familiarity with him, saying, “Lino is somebody that I’ve known for a while.”
