Aston Villa have signed Aly Cissokho from Valencia for an undisclosed fee
The 26-year-old left-back, who was on loan at Liverpool last season, will now returning to the club against which he made his Barclays Premier League debut. He has signed a four-year deal subject to international clearance and said that Villa Park has fond memories for him as it was where he got his first taste of the Barclays Premier League, in a 1-0 victory for the Reds in the second match of the 2013/14 season.
“Destiny has made it so that Villa Park was where I played my first game and now one year later I am wearing the shirt,” Cissokho said. “I remember everything about the game because it was my first here in England – the pitch, the stadium, the fans, everything was incredible.
“I remember the atmosphere created by the Villa fans was so good even though Liverpool won! It was a good game and I will always remember it because it was my first in the Premier League and it was here at Aston Villa.”
Cissokho has played in his native France, Portugal and Spain before moving to England last season during which he apparently impressed Paul Lambert, the Villa manager.
“Aly will bring a lot of experience with the clubs he’s been at and the experience he already has of playing in the Barclays Premier League with Liverpool,” Lambert said. “This will stand him in really good stead and stand us in good stead as well.”
Cissokho is Villa’s fourth senior signing of the summer after Kieran Richardson, Philippe Senderos and Joe Cole and Lambert hinted that more may be coming before the transfer window closes.
“We’ve brought some new lads in and hopefully we can bring in one or two more players to make the squad even stronger,” he said. “We’re going to need everybody because the Premier League isn’t a small-squad game. You need everybody to get through the games.”
Lambert’s team start their 2014/15 Barclays Premier League campaign away to Stoke City on 16 August.