Aston Villa confirm first summer transfer exit as €4m fee received

Aston Villa have confirmed that midfielder Morgan Sanson has joined OGC Nice on a permanent basis.

Nice met all the conditions in their agreement with Villa to turn his loan deal into a permanent one. He had to compete in half of their matches and he did that in good time whilst Nice had to finish in the top eight and they have done that with a Europa Conference League place assured, with the possibility of breaking in to the Champions League if results go in their favour.

In a parting statement the club said: “Everyone at Aston Villa would like to thank Morgan for his service to the club and wish him all the best in his future career.”

The 29-year-old made 23 appearances for Villa after joining from Marseille in January 2021 for a reported £16m when Dean Smith was in charge. He scored one goal which came in an FA Cup defeat to Stevenage.

Last season, Sanson joined Strasbourg for the second part of the campaign and played 18 times there and that was enough to earn interest from Nice. He has played 31 times in all competitions for them scoring four goals and supplying three assists.

It is the first transfer announced since Villa had their place in the 2024/25 Champions League confirmed. Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City meant that Villa could no longer be caught and now they can dine at the top table of European football once again.

According to The Athletic, Villa will pocket £16.02m after their place was confirmed. Villa after paying £16m for Sanson three years ago are making a loss of £12.5m on the French midfielder.