Villa officially send defender out on loan to Championship

Aston Villa have made official the news that we first heard this morning: Chris Herd is headed to the Championship to help struggling Wigan try to avoid relegation.

LOAN NEWS: Chris Herd has joined @LaticsOfficial until the end of the season. #AVFC pic.twitter.com/pefnrwfe3x

— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) January 26, 2015

The move comes in the middle of a season in which Herd has done absolutely nothing with Villa. Given that he's primarily a central defender, it would make sense that he's seen no action, as he's got five first-team quality players ahead of him competing for playing time. What's more surprising is that, even with that sort of depth, Herd was remarkably close to playing a few times this season thanks to injuries.

But with Nathan Baker, Ciaran Clark, and Jores Okore healthy (as well as Philippe Senderos and Ron Vlaar on the mend), Herd is excess to Aston Villa's needs. Given that his contract is up this summer, the move (like that of Darren Bent) almost surely means the end of a claret and blue career for the Australian international.