Aston Villa make first "summer" move with Manchester City winger

Earlier today we heard that Aston Villa were set to make Scott Sinclair's stay at Aston Villa a permanent one, and now it has been made official. The former Manchester City winger, who arrived at Villa Park on loan in January, will be with Villa for the next four years.

The move was triggered by Aston Villa securing the Premier League place. If they did that, they not only had the option to sign Sinclair, but were obligated to do so. The move supposedly cost £2.5 million, which isn't a bad price to pay for a player who scored three goals in just a few months of action. And while Sinclair hasn't seen a lot of play lately, that is largely down to Tim Sherwood picking formations where he doesn't quite fit. If the club revert to a traditional flat 4-4-2, Sinclair may very be a part of that tactic. Otherwise, he provides valuable and skillful depth to cover in case of injury.

And given Villa's injury problem this year, that's something worth insuring against. £2.5 million isn't wildly cheap, but it isn't too expensive, either. Especially when you factor into that the fact that Tom Cleverley looks increasingly likely to stay on a free this summer. £2.5 million for one midfielder isn't bad, but that same amount amortized across two loan moves is a steal.