Daniel Johnson joins Preston North End on permanent deal

Aston Villa announced late Friday that 22-year old attacking midfielder Daniel Johnson has left the club for a permanent move to Preston North End of League One.

It follows recent loan moves to Chesterfield and Oldham Athletic (on an emergency loan) earlier this year but it means that like Samir Carruthers in the summer, another young, attacking option from Villa's youth academy has now permanently left the club.

While most Villa supporters expected more out of Carruthers, it is still a little disappointing to see Johnson leave the club on a permanent deal without getting a first-team look rather than going out on another loan move, considering, well, Villa aren't really spending money right now. When Villa won the NextGen competition two years ago (one which Johnson was not a part of; he was on the team that made a quarter-final run the previous year), it looked as if the club would be set going forward building with youth.

But for every younger player that permanently leaves the club, that feeling starts to slip away a little more. The talent coming through from the academy has stagnated in recent years and it should be asked if Janoi Donacien, Graham Burke, and perhaps even Callum Robinson might follow in the footsteps of Carruthers and now Johnson, leaving Villa with very little impact from the lauded Academy teams of the past few years.

Concerned about a trend developing or is it good to get something for a guy that wasn't going to make it? Let us know what you think in the comments!