The Football League Paper

WINDOW CLOSURE MAKES CLUBS ACT FAST

- By Tom Blackett

THE transfer window closes on Thursday at 11pm – and clubs are moving quickly to tie up deals before the deadline.

Aston Villa have brought in experience­d winger Robert Snodgrass from West Ham on a season-long loan.

Snodgrass, 29, will team up again with Villa boss Steve Bruce, who he played under at Hull. The Scotland internatio­nal joined West Ham for £10m in January, but has failed to establish at the London Stadium.

“I am delighted to join. I have had offers from other clubs but it was an easy decision to come here,” he said. “You see the name Aston Villa with all its history, tradition, fan base and it’s a place you want to come to.

“Seeing it in the Championsh­ip doesn’t look right. I want to be part of that journey back up to the Premier League. I am raring to go.”

Reading have also added experience to their squad. Welsh internatio­nal midfielder Dave Edwards has put pen to paper on a twoyear deal with the Royals, joining from Wolves for an undisclose­d fee.

Edwards spent almost ten years at Molineux, notching up more than 300 appearance­s for the Midlands club.

Royals boss Jaap Stam said: “He’s a great player, he’s got a lot of experience, tactically he’s strong, he has enormous stamina as well...and going forward he has goalscorin­g ability.

“We’ve got a number of young players in our squad but we need experience­d heads out there too and Dave is another leader with the mentality we are looking for in our players.”

Meanwhile, Barnet have signed left-back Andre Blackman after his release by League Two rivals Crawley Town.

The length of the 26-yearold’s contract has not been revealed. He made 35 appearance­s for Crawley last season having joined on a free transfer from Blackpool.

 ??  ?? MOVE: Robert Snodgrass
MOVE: Robert Snodgrass

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