Aston Villa complete £12.5m Alex Moreno transfer from Real Betis as Spanish left-back becomes Unai Emery’s first signing
ASTON VILLA have completed the signing of defender Alex Moreno - who has become the first arrival of the Unai Emery era.
The Midlands club have prised the Spaniard from the clutches of Real Betis for a fee SunSport understands to be in the region of £12.5million.
The length of the 29-year-old's contract with the Villans, however, is currently unknown.
A club statement read: "Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of Alex Moreno for an undisclosed fee.
"The defender joins Villa from Real Betis in his native Spain, with whom he won the Copa del Rey last season.
"Comfortable playing as either a left-sided full-back or in a more advanced position on the left flank, the 29-year-old has also played for Mallorca, Elche and Rayo Vallecano during his career to date."
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Villans boss Emery believes the versatile Moreno will be a valuable addition to his underperforming squad.
The 51-year-old said: "Alex is a good player that can help our squad.
"He has been one of the top left-backs in La Liga over the past few seasons and we are delighted to have him here."
Moreno's move to Villa Park has brought about an end to a three-year stay at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
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Betis said in a statemen: "The club is effusively grateful for the services provided by the Catalan winger in the three and a half seasons in which he has belonged to Real Betis and wishes him the best of luck in his professional future."
Moreno penned an emotional goodbye letter to the Betis fans shortly after his departure was confirmed, thanking them for the memories.
Moreno could make his debut on Friday when Villa host Leeds.
Emery's men will be hoping to bounce back from an embarrassing FA Cup exit at the hands of League Two side Stevenage.
After the match, the manager raged: “I am not a magician to come here and change everything.
"Now it’s fantastic, we got ten points from 15 available but the last match we played against Wolves I was very, very upset because I was like, ‘Hey, we are starting so quickly again…not doing the tactical or individual demands I want to put out’.
"And today it was different, completely different.
“Today we lost and we were totally disappointed.
"We can be so sorry for our supporters but this can happen when you have chances and don't score.
"We weren't clinical.
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"This is not for tactically because we weren’t really focused in 90 minutes.
"No, it was because it can happen when you have chances and moments and you didn’t do it.”