Aston Villa Agree £8m Star’s Exit With Replacement Named

Aston Villa defender Diego Carlos is reportedly set to bring his tenure at Villa Park to an end, according to Fabrizio Romano – with the defender expected to fly to Turkey to finalise a move to Super Lig giants Fenerbahce after the clubs agreed on a fee for his services.

Carlos joined Villa from Spanish La Liga outfit Sevilla back in the summer of 2022 under Steven Gerrard, and although they suffered a poor run of form under the Liverpool legend, it’s been under his successor, Unai Emery, that Villa have really taken off in the Premier League. However, Carlos has not been blessed in terms of availability, with Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa starring ahead of him – and that has pushed him towards the exit door, with Fenerbahce being the next move in his career after the clubs agreed on a fee for the Brazilian.

The report from Romano on X (formerly Twitter) states that a deal is now in place between Villa and Fenerbahce for Carlos’ transfer, with the Italian journalist delivering his famous ‘here we go!’ punchline.

Carlos is expected to fly to Istanbul on Monday evening, with the transfer fee set to be in excess of €10million (£8.5million). And, with Villa being keen on bringing Sevilla star Loic Bade in as a replacement, that could see them move quicker in a bid to land the Frenchman before the window ends. Bade previously had a stint at Nottingham Forest back in the 2022/23 season, but his loan signing saw him fail to play a single game in the east Midlands, and he could be hoping for Premier League redemption in the west Midlands.

Should Carlos’ move go through, it would see the Brazilian finish his Villans spell having mustered 58 appearances, scoring one goal in the process – which came in a 2-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League.

However, injuries have hampered him and with game time not being prominent in the past few years of his spell, Carlos’ move to Turkey will give him the chance to shine in the top division whilst also boasting European football, with Fenerbahce having finished second in the Super Lig last season.