Aston Villa have allowed defender Joe Bennett to join Cardiff City on a free transfer with the Midlands side owner Dr Tony Xia confirming the move this afternoon.
Bennett was blocked from moving to promotion rivals Sheffield Wednesday earlier on in the window but now he has secured a move away from Villa Park to the Welsh capital.
It was believed he had agreed a three-year deal at Wednesday and completed a medical before the Villa owner prevented the move at the eleventh hour.
The 26-year-old has not played for Villa in a league game in over two years and spent the past two years on loan at Brighton, Bournemouth and Sheffield Wednesday.
He was one of Paul Lambert’s first signings as manager back in 2012 from Middlesbrough but he failed to fill the void at left back.
Aston Villa now have two senior left-backs at the club with Aly Cissokho and Jordan Amavi options for manager Roberto Di Matteo.
We have agreed to let Joe move to Cardiff for free but not subside any wages . Wish him a bright career there as many SW fans expected!
— Dr. Tony Xia (@Dr_TonyXia) August 26, 2016
