Pepe Reina linked with shock Villarreal return | OneFootball

Veteran Spanish keeper Pepe Reina could make a long awaited return to Villarreal this summer.

Reina has played a rotating role in between the sticks at Lazio in the last two seasons after returning from a brief loan spell at Aston Villa.

The 39-year-old’s contract was automatically extended in Rome at the end of the 2021/22 campaign but the former Liverpool stopper is determined to move on.

According to reports from Diario AS, Villarreal have highlighted Reina as the ideal replacement for the outgoing Sergi Asenjo at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

Lazio are open to letting Reina leave on a free transfer, as his extension was triggered by a pre-agreed clause with the club, and he carries a big wage for a squad player in the Italian capital.

Reina enjoyed a strong spell with the Yellow Submarine, between 2002 and 2005, before heading for Anfield, for an eight-season stint on Merseyside.