Aston Villa have granted permission for a second youth player to complete a temporary League One loan exit, before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
Unai Emery’s side were heavily beaten by Brighton Hove Albion on the opening weekend of the Premier League season and host reigning champions Arsenal on Monday, hopeful of earning their first points of the season.
However, for some of their Academy players – their short-term futures’ lie away from Villa Park, with the aim of exposing them to regular first-team minutes and developing their abilities as the campaign progresses.
Aston Villa accept second League One loan offer
On Sunday, League One side Wigan Athletic were revealed to be in advanced talks to sign Aston Villa winger Bradley Burrowes on a season-loan loan deal, but it appears as though one of his former team-mates could also be joining him in the third tier.
Hours later, it was revealed via journalist Jacob Tanswell that fellow third-tier side Peterborough United are expected to complete the return of defender Josh Feeney, following his stint with Huddersfield Town last season.
Feeney is another product of the Aston Villa Academy but has played regular minutes for both Shrewsbury Town and Huddersfield Town on loan in recent campaigns, and a third could be right around the corner.
The 21-year-old is not expected to be in Emery’s plans for the current season and thus is expected to join Peterborough on a season-long loan, though no official agreement has been met between the two sides at the time of writing.
Can Feeney make the difference for Peterborough?
Once an agreement has been reached between the two teams, Feeney is expected to slot straight into first-team contention this season with Peterborough in what will be his third straight League One loan spell.
Standing at 6ft4, Feeney displays leadership traits and positive ability when in-possession of the ball – all of which will likely be music to the ears of Peterborough fans.
Across the last two season’s, Feeney has made 68 appearances and contributed to four goals and featured earlier this month for Aston Villa’s U21s during their 2-1 victory against Brighton U21s in the Premier League 2.
He also maintained a pass-completion rate of 82%, 1.8 ball recoveries and 7.2 clearances per match – suggesting that whilst he uses his height to his advantage, his ability on the ground is just as (if not more) important.
Peterborough narrowly avoided relegation last season and have already spent a lot of money to try and ensure that a repeat of the previous campaign is far out of their minds.
