Bristol Rovers is pleased to confirm the loan signing of defender Lino Sousa from Premier League side Aston Villa.
The left-back moves to The Memorial Stadium for the 2024/25 campaign and will wear the No3 in the blue-and-white quarters.
A pacey England youth international, Sousa is Rovers’ 14th signing of the summer transfer window and fourth loan acquisition.
“I’m excited to be here,” the 19-year-old said. “I feel like this is a really good platform to showcase myself and help the Club achieve its aims for the season. I’m just grateful to the manager and the coaching staff for giving me this opportunity.
“The conversations with the manager and his team have been really good, really healthy and ambitious. You can really see that by the number of signings that have been made.
“Of course, it's exciting to be a part of a young and talented squad. To see driven players, I can’t wait to meet them; I’ve heard good things about them.
"You can see this is a very hard-working team. I'm happy to be here and I want to get experience and games under my belt, bring goal contributions and assists, help the Club to achieve our aims this season."
Manager Matt Taylor welcomed Sousa to the Club and is excited to work with the talented teenager.
Taylor said: “We are pleased to welcome Lino to the Club. Lino’s pedigree and talent is clear, and he will bring more competition for places on our flank and in the defensive line.
“We are looking forward to working with him throughout the season.”
Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Sousa and his family moved to England when he was eight-years old, with the defender joining the West Bromwich Albion academy.
At just 16-years old, he featured in the U18s team that reached the FA Youth Cup semi-finals during the 2020/21 campaign, before signing for Premier League club Arsenal in January 2022.
Sousa impressed the Arsenal set-up with his talent and tenacity, and the young defender was rewarded with his first inclusion in a Premier League matchday squad, against Brentford, in September 2022.
The full-back was a consistent figure in the Gunners’ U23s side before joining Aston Villa in February 2024. Sousa was then immediately loaned to Sky Bet Championship side Plymouth Argyle, making his debut two days later in a 1-0 win over Swansea City.
Sousa would end the 2023/24 campaign with eight league appearances for Argyle.
In international football, Sousa is eligible to play for his home country Portugal but has represented England at youth level.
The defender made his England U19s debut in September 2023, in a 1-0 defeat to Germany, having previously represented the U18s the year prior.
Everyone at Bristol Rovers would like to welcome Lino to the Club and wish him every success for his loan spell in the blue-and-white quarters.
