Aston Villa come to terms with Liverpool on Ilori loan

Well then, I guess this might actually happen. Liverpool and Aston Villa have apparently come to terms on a £1 million one-year loan for 22-year-old centre back Tiago Ilori. The deal is far from done though, and the clubs have just under half an hour to finish it. So it's not a sure thing that the young Portuguese player will be with Villa this season.

But it's still a perplexing move in every way. £1 million seems like a steep fee for a loan of a young player who figures to be fifth- or sixth-choice centre back, even if it does come with an option to buy that we're hearing about. There is still, of course, the chance that someone else is leaving. Or, as was pointed out to me after my last Ilori article, it could be a matter of Jores Okore's injury being worse than was originally suspected, and Ilori is coming in to take his spot for a while.

Either way you look at it, this is a bit strange. But it's a strange that looks like it very well might be happening.