Bye Bye Bacuna
We’ll probably never know why Villa boss Steve Bruce thought it was a good idea to start the 2017/18 season, by deciding Leandro Bacuna should be in his first XI.
Wasn’t it meant to be a new dawn? A season for promotion?
Villa had spent over £75m+ in the past season and Bruce himself had bought in several midfielders, three of them sat on the bench watching Bacuna start.
Bacuna had a bright enough first season with Villa when Paul Lambert brought him in 2013 for less than a £1m. He chipped in with goals, offered versatility to fill in at a few positions and was an ok squad player.
Overall though, it’s hard to nail down how he improved Villa when he played in the team. What did he actually bring to the table apart from occasional frustration?
Was he a victim of not having a defined role?
He was an unconvincing right-back, a limited midfielder and a below average right-winger.
He was also somewhat petulant in terms of his temperament.
Anyway, that’s Jaap Stam’s problem now.
For Villa, Bacuna wasn’t good enough, but he hasn’t been on his own in that department.
‘Hey Reading, how about trying to get Agbonlahor on loan again?’
Leandro Bacuna looks ahead
The 25-year-old was unsurprisingly cheerful about leaving Villa Park.
“I’m very happy – I think it’s going to be a different step for me, and I’m delighted to get going,” Bacuna said, upon signing for the Royals.
Reading had reportedly initially offered £1.5m for Bacuna, which Villa turned down. The final fee would probably be around the £2m mark with no doubt some add-ons built-in.
“There have been a few ups and downs but in the end, we got it over the line,” added Bacuna of the deal.
“It’s a really nice step to try and come here to play for Jaap Stam as well. I’m really delighted and I’m really happy that I can start this new journey, to be honest.
“And the way Reading play football at the moment, teams are frightened, they come here and try and defend. It gives us as a team a bit more patience, and with these kind of games if you win them then you can get going again.”
In terms of Tuesday night’s clash between Villa and Reading, a match that Bacuna should be eligible to play in, most Villans were probably more frighten of Bacuna lining up for Villa than the opposition themselves.
Still, we wish him luck, as it hasn’t been easy for any player to be at Villa in recent seasons.
One more thing…
Hey Reading, how about trying to get Agbonlahor on loan again?
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