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Could Antonio Luna make the switch to fair Verona?

The Spanish left back's Villa career never really got off on the right foot. Is he now set to make a move south to Hellas Verona—a club that boasted Serie A's third-worst defensive record in 2013-14?

Antonio Luna reacts to a missed chance during the dull 0-0 draw against Hull City in October.
Antonio Luna reacts to a missed chance during the dull 0-0 draw against Hull City in October.
Julian Finney

Antonio Luna scored the goal to seal Aston Villa's opening day shock victory over Arsenal that endeared him as a cult hero. And then it went all downhill from there. Now, it looks like 'Tony Moon' might be set to leave the club just a year after joining, with Hellas Verona said to be interested in his services.

Now, in truth, there's not all that much to say here. With Kieran Richardson coming in—likely to play left back rather than on the left wing—odds were that at least one of Luna or Joe Bennett would be out the door with Paul Lambert eager to get non-performers off the wage bill. Add into the fact that Luna didn't appear once for Villa in the last four months of the season and, well, this is most certainly a logical move from Villa's standpoint.

Luna's been linked with Serie A side Hellas Verona by Seville's Estadio Deportivo, a move that makes sense from both a playing-time standpoint and the standpoint that Verona are likely keen to improve their defensive ranks after giving up the third-most goals in Serie A last year, despite finishing 10th. (The article also talks about Villa having spent a "million" of something on Kieran Richardson, but I wouldn't treat a Spanish paper as gospel when it comes to EPL transfers.)

Tony Moon was a guy that at first, Villa supporters loved. And truth be told, there's a part of me that thinks Luna deserves a second chance, especially at just 23 years of age. But ultimately, with the financial constraints put on Paul Lambert at the moment, it's extremely hard to justify keeping around a guy who enters the season as the third-choice left back.

It's best if Luna goes, both for him and for Villa. Fingers crossed that can be achieved.