January 2020: Aged 37, becomes the eighth Spanish 🇪🇸 player to sign for the Villa after Jota Peleteiro 🇪🇸 (2019), Mamadou Dialla Sylla 🇪🇸 (2018), Adama Traoré 🇪🇸 (2015), José Ángel Crespo 🇪🇸 (2015), Carles Gil 🇪🇸 (2015), Antonio Luna 🇪🇸 (2013) and Carlos Cuéllar 🇪🇸 (2008).
January 2020: Aged 37, becomes the second player to be signed by the Villa from AC Milan 🇮🇹 after Martin Laursen 🇩🇰 (2004).
January 2020: Aged 37, becomes the 943rd player to play for Villa in first-team League or Cup football since the club’s first entry into the FA Cup in 1879.
January 2020: Aged 37, becomes the 102nd ‘keeper to keep goal for Villa in first-team League or Cup football since the club’s first entry into the FA Cup in 1879.

Player #943 for Aston Villa, José Manuel Reina Páez, known as Pepe Reina, played as a goalkeeper for the club in 2019-20. Reina was the 102nd custodian of the Villa goal in professional football.

Reina was born in Madrid, Spain on 31 August 1982.

Villa had signed Reina on loan from AC Milan on 13 January 2020 at the age of 37 for the remainder of the 2019-20 Premier League season as cover for the injured Tom Heaton and Jed Steer.

Villa’s goalkeeping coach, and the 83rd custodian of the Villa goal in professional football, Neil Cutler explained the thinking behind Reina’s arrival: “When he steps onto the pitch he takes control of situations, he’s calm in possession. It’s his personality. He leads men. You can see when Spain won the World Cup and the Euros, he’s the one on the mic leading the group, even though he wasn’t playing. He’s got that experience to lead the group, help the group and make sure we stay in the league this season.”

It wasn’t just his leadership skills that led Villa to bring Reina into the club, but his ability to fit into the possession-based football that boss Dean Smith favoured. As Cutler explained “He [Reina] gets players on the ball, he dictates play, he dictates the tempo, he finds little pockets, he plays through the press and over the press.

“It’s his calmness and the way he controls the way we play.”

Understandably, given his abilities and influence, Reina took over as Villa’s No.1 on arrival and immediately set Villa on a better path with 4 points gathered from games against relegation rivals Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford; however, thereafter, results were less positive.

Four successive league defeats saw Reina put in some eccentric displays and conceded 11 goals - his error against Bournemouth, where he palmed Ryan Fraser’s shot into the path of Nathan Ake and an all-around poor performance against Leicester were particularly concerning.

Somewhat inevitably, Reina lost his place on the resumption of football in June 2020. However, Ørjan Nyland, Reina’s replacement, soon proved fallible himself, and Pepe was returned to goal for the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

Across his 12 appearances, Reina conceded 20 goals at a ratio of 1.67 goals per game whilst keeping 2 clean sheets. Whilst those figures were comparatively poor, they came in a struggling side and were enough for Villa to successfully retain their top-flight status.

Reina returned to AC Milan after the end of his loan spell, having exerted a positive influence on the dressing room in Villa’s victorious fight against relegation, even if he hadn’t proved infallible on the pitch.

Reina had played under Dean Smith.