Talented Villa youngster completes season-long loan exit

Aston Villa have confirmed that versatile young defender Lamare Bogarde has joined Bristol Rovers on a season-long loan deal.

The 19-year-old joined us from Feyenoord in 2020, and has gone on to impress at youth level having been a regular starter for the U21s while also helping us to win the FA Youth Cup in 2021.

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Bogarde spent the second half of last season on loan with Bristol Rovers and made 18 appearances for the club, and he will now return this year to continue his development.

As per Villa’s statement, the talented youngster has joined Rovers on a season-long loan deal, and it will hopefully prove to be a sensible move for him to continue to improve and evolve his game as he ultimately tries to make a breakthrough at senior level with us.

Given the level of competition and depth in the first-team squad currently, it was always going to be highly unlikely that he would get minutes this season despite our hectic schedule and need to rotate, and so a loan exit was seen as the best move at this stage of his career.

The Netherlands U20 international will hopefully gain more valuable experience to build on his progression last season, and returning to a familiar environment could be a big positive too.

Villa have been active this summer in moving players on with Unai Emery continuing to mould the squad into his own, and as part of that process, a number of top young talents have been loaned out with Bogarde joining Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Louie Barry, Finn Azaz and Viljami Sinisalo in sealing a temporary switch elsewhere.

Time will tell if they have a future in a Villa shirt ahead of them or if they ultimately end up moving on and bringing in important transfer fees for the club, but in terms of the decision for right now, it makes sense for all concerned and we wish Bogarde the best of luck in his loan spell as we hope it’s productive and helps in his ongoing development.