Melbourne City have confirmed the signing of 29-year-old defender Ritchie de Laet on loan from Aston Villa till the end of the season, as confirmed on the Club website.

De Laet is the ninth player to leave Villa Park and is looking forward to linking up with Melbourne manager Warren Joyce who he worked with earlier in his career.

Our team give their views on whether this move is good for Villa.

We discuss.....

Gary Hutchinson

He isn’t going to play so yes, absolutely.

I assume they’ve asked if he can play centre back and he’s said no, so he has no further value to them!

He’s always been on the edge of the squad which is a shame as I think he has plenty to offer.

It just hasn’t worked out.

Sam Rourke

I'm torn on this.

On the one hand, Villa need as many options as possible at the back and having the former Leicester man still on the books would be handy.

But ultimately, he's not playing first-team football and at his age, that's what he'll be wanting to do, so a move away does make sense.

Jay Taylor

Considering Aston Villa are short on defensive numbers, I don’t think this is very wise.

Fair enough, Ritchie de Laet isn’t featuring regularly, Villa are one injury or suspension away from him becoming important in the side.

I am not sure what Steve Bruce is doing at the club at the moment. It all seems to be a little disjointed.

Time will tell I guess if the Villa boss does sanction a move away, but he would be foolish at this time to do so.