Aston Villa have reportedly completed the signing of Birmingham City winger Jota in a deal that will see midfielder Gary Gardner head the other way, according to the Sun. 

The report claims that as well as sending Gardner to St. Andrews on a permanent deal Villa will also pay £4million for the Spaniard as they look to build a Premier League standard side.

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Jota only managed three goals in 40 Championship appearances last season for the Blues but nine assists showed that he still carried plenty of threat in the final third.

But his most productive spell came when playing under current Villa manager Dean Smith at Brentford, scoring 23 goals in 78 appearances for the Bees before being snapped up by Birmingham.

Gardner was an ever-present for Garry Monk's Blues side last season, making 40 league appearances, scoring two goals and assisting three more, so his return will be a welcome one.

Villa secured their return to the Premier League after three seasons in the second-tier just over a week ago now, beating Derby County 2-1 in the Championship play-off final.

The verdict 

This seems like a pretty good deal for everyone involved.

Dean Smith is clearly confident he can get Jota back to his productive bet and if he does, he will prove a very good signing.

And for Birmingham, getting £4million to reinvest in their side as well as filling a position in midfield permanently is hard to say no to.

How they will reinvest that money will be interesting, however, with a replacement for Che Adams likely to be needed at some point.