Aston Villa sell Blackburn Rovers star to Norwich as former £9m Everton man in talks over return to England

Anwar El Ghazi is being lined up for a move by Cardiff City. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)Anwar El Ghazi is being lined up for a move by Cardiff City. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
Anwar El Ghazi is being lined up for a move by Cardiff City. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Aston Villa allow a player to leave but receive a fee as one of their Championship play-off final heroes enters talks with a Championship club.

Former Aston Villa star Anwar El Ghazi is in talks over a possible return to English football.

According to Sky Sports, the 29-year-old is in discussions with Mainz about terminating his contract so he can join Championship side Cardiff City.

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A fortnight ago, El Ghazi won his case against Mainz who were ordered to pay £1.4m in salary and bonuses after he won a wrongful dismissal claim to the Labour Court of Mainz. His contract was cancelled on November 2, following a series of social media posts about the Israel-Gaza conflict. A move is still some way off as there are complications because of El Ghazi’s lost earnings.

If El Ghazi's move to Cardiff were to go through then he would become the second former Aston Villa player to arrive in South Wales this summer. Calum Chambers and Villa came to a mutual agreement to cancel his contract this summer and now El Ghazi could be joining him, however the pair never played alongside each other competitively.

The two-time Netherlands international joined Aston Villa in August 2018 when they were in the Championship, and scored in the Championship play-off final as they beat Derby County. His move was made permanent following a successful loan spell with Lille getting £8m.

During his time with Villa, he played 119 games and provided 26 goals and 16 assists. During the last six months with Villa, he went out on loan to Everton, but played just twice. In August 2022 he was sold to PSV for an undisclosed fee, but his contract was cancelled after just a year.

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El Ghazi signed a two-year contract with Mainz but ended up playing just three games for the Bundesliga outfit.

In other news, Villa have allowed Ben Chrisene to join Norwich City. He has completed a permanent move to the Canaries, signing a four-year deal.

The 20-year-old made one senior appearance for the Villains after joining from Exeter City in August 2020. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, making 18 appearances.

“I'm excited to be here and excited to get started," said Chrisene. The project and new direction is really exciting, not only for me but for the whole club.

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“I’ve spoken to the head coach about what he wants to do. I’m really looking forward to working with him. I feel I’ve still got a lot to learn but hopefully it gels pretty quickly and we can hit the ground running.”

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