Lange plotting bargain AVFC swoop for "monstrous" £6m-rated gem, he'd be a big upgrade - opinion

Aston Villa had a rather busy January transfer window in terms of bringing new players to the club on permanent and temporary loan deals.

With the next summer transfer window in mind, it seems as though the Midlands club have their eye on making one of their January loan deals into a permanent one.

According to a recent article from Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Steven Gerrard’s side are looking to trigger the release clause that would see goalkeeper Robin Olsen remain at Villa Park on a permanent basis when his loan deal from AS Roma expires at the end of the season.

The report also claims that it would cost Johan Lange and the Villans €3.5m (£2.8m) to keep the Swedish shot-stopper.

Since arriving at the club back in January, the 32-year-old has yet to make an appearance for Villa, being an unused substitute for their past five league games.

With that in mind, it seems that the only way the £6m-rated loanee will get a chance to play would be if Emi Martinez were unable to play for whatever reason.

Having been praised for his “monstrous” performances on the international stage in the past, Olsen will undoubtedly be hoping to show everyone at the Midlands club what he’s capable of before the end of the season.

However, with the club apparently already looking to keep him where he is beyond this current campaign, this suggests that they have seen enough in him to persuade them to spend some money to trigger his release clause.

As the former Everton and Sheffield United loan star arrived in January, this paved the way for Jed Steer to make a move out of the club for a loan switch to Championship club Luton Town.

If the Englishman, who has only made a total of 36 appearances for the Villans across all