Bacuna deal confirmed by Aston Villa: midfielder in Birmingham through 2015-16 season

After hearing from Dutch newspapers and FC Groningen themselves, we now have confirmation from Aston Villa that the club have signed Dutch midfielder Leandro Bacuna to a three-year deal through the 2015-16 season. In his 37 appearances (30 starts) for Groningen in 2012-13, Bacuna scored five goals.

If you're wondering what Villa have gotten in Bacuna, Kirsten will have a profile up a bit later, but for now take a look at what Mohamed Moallim, a writer on Dutch football, has to say. He was replying to someone's question about whether or not Bacuna was fit for the EPL:

Hard to say, on paper can be a success, or at the very least assimilate well: comfortable on either flank and can play as a deep-lying forward, ambidextrous, good spatial awareness, finishes well, direct (doesn't overcomplicate things). This is when things are going well, for most part, inconsistent and tends to go missing when his side struggles (can best describe him as a confidence player). He's not a player I'd build a team around, that's for sure, but can be a solid component. This is a transfer than can easily go either way.

Aston Villa don't necessarily need someone they can build around, so I'd say I'm still cautiously happy with this signing. Again, keep in mind that thanks to Lambert's transfer strategy, even flops don't saddle the club with massive debt. He's got the space to miss on a few transfers.