Aston Villa defender confirms January Milan talks: 'I wanted to find a solution'

Aston Villa defender Clement Lenglet has seemingly confirmed that he held talks with AC Milan over a loan move during the January transfer window.

Milan were expected to sign a new central defender during the winter mercato as they were battling the long-term injuries of Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw and Pierre Kalulu which had decimated the department.

Matteo Gabbia did return from his loan at Villarreal has helped to steady the situation, but there was still the expectation that another player would arrive and Lenglet’s name was repeatedly mentioned by various different sources.

Now, the Frenchman has done an interview with Gianluca Di Marzio in which he spoke about a number of topics from his beginnings in football to the present day, and he reflected on the season so far.

“I arrived on the last day of the transfer window and had an injury after a week that kept me out for ten days. At the time, the team was playing well, so it wasn’t the moment to change for Emery: I understood and accepted it,” he said.

The report from Di Marzio adds that various clubs came in for him during the January window with the intention of interrupting his loan at Villa, with Milan among them.

“I wasn’t playing regularly, so I wanted to find a solution. My priority was to play, and at that time it wasn’t possible, so there were contacts with other clubs. Then unfortunately Pau Torres got injured, and my time came. When I started playing, plans changed. But I like Serie A.”