Arriving on loan in January, Robin Olsen was never expected to displace Emiliano Martínez in goal at Aston Villa, but was there just in case something every happened to the Argentine.
After all, the Swede had a rather successful spell at Everton as Jordan Pickford’s backup, but with the former Arsenal goalkeeper remaining fit and Steven Gerrard’s number one, the AS Roma loanee has never featured for the Villans to date.
That doesn’t mean he won’t stay there, as Tuesday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport in an article written by Andrea Pugliese suggests his future is far away from Italy, even if an article from the same outlet penned by Chiara Zucchelli felt a permanent transfer could be difficult.
The most recent update points out the Aston Villa goalkeeper is one of ‘six players on whom Roma, for one reason or another, have already written off for some time’ and are seen as ‘unlikely to ever return’ to the club.
When it comes to Olsen, who, despite never playing under Steven Gerrard, continues to be the starting goalkeeper of Sweden, it’s explained he has ‘lost value with just one more year of contract with Roma’.
This suggests that despite reports the option to buy in the deal struck with Aston Villa only stands at €3.5m, with other reports putting it at €2m, there is room for a discount.
A lot could depend on what Olsen wants to do, because he’ll want to ensure his role for Sweden in the upcoming World Cup if they qualify.
However, if they don’t and lose to Poland on Tuesday evening, he might simply be happy to stay in the Midlands as Martínez’s backup.
