Aston Villa have announced the signing of Croatian international goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic. The 28-year-old will officially join the club when the January transfer window opens.
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Croatian goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic from Belgian side KAA Gent, the club have announced. The keeper will join the squad on January 1st after agreeing a deal which will see him stay at the club until the summer of 2023.
The ‘keeper comes in to provide some competition for current starting shot stopper Orjan Nyland, who has failed to impress since arriving at Villa Park in the summer.
The 28-year-old has become the starting goalkeeper for the Croatian national team after Daniel Subasic retired from international football at the end of the World Cup.
Kalinic spent a total of 17 years with Croatian side Hadjuk Split, first joining them at the age of 10. He made his way through the youth academy and made his debut in 2011. From then onwards, Kalinic was the starting goalkeeper for the Croatian outfit, making a total of 130 appearances.
After 17 years in Croatia with his boyhood club, the 28-year-old swapped Croatia for Belgium, when he joined Jupiler Pro League side KAA Gent in January 2017. In his first season in Belgium, he won the best goalkeeper award despite only arriving halfway through the campaign.
Since then, Kalinic has been a mainstay in the Gent side, playing 79 times and keeping 29 clean sheets.
Upon the announcement of the signing, Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has spoken of his joy after the arrival of Kalinic.
“We are delighted to be signing someone of Lovre’s experience and quality,” Smith told the club website.
“He is an outstanding goalkeeper and we are looking forward to welcoming him when he joins at the beginning of January.”
