Aston Villa New Number 9
With the transfer window coming to a steady end, it’s safe to say Villa have done an decent flurry of deals throughout. We have been very busy, signing seven out of the eight players our new owner promised and offloading enough players to make double figures, which was to be expected after last season. However, our window isn’t over just yet as Dr.Tony still promises us a ‘world class’ (in his words) number nine to finally ready us for the season ahead.
Villa owner Tony Xia says we’ll know the situation come this Sunday evening.
The Final Piece of the Jigsaw?
In the latest My Old Man Said Podcast, the discussed the need for a marquee signing. Someone to really fire up the fans for the season ahead and boost both shirt and ticket sales in the promotion push this season. With that in mind, it’s also very evident that despite having one of the most lethal strike forces in the league on paper already, we still lack in depth and pace when it comes to the top of the pitch.
So, just like the rest of Tony Xia’s early tenure, he has answered our calls and promised not only a new striker, but also a world class one. Obviously it would be very naïve to expect that we could seal the signature of a player with the calibre that most fans might be dreaming of, but then again hopefully this transfer will be a big one.
We’ve already had hints and rumours of who it could be, so let’s assess our options:
Abel Hernandez
The Uruguayan from Hull City has had the biggest links to Villa Park so far as many of the Villa fans are almost willing this transfer to happen themselves. However, the real news of this man being in contact with Villa is scarce and mostly comes from foreign sources in Italy.
Even with that in mind, the signs are all pointing to Hernandez wanting a move away from the KCOM Stadium this summer, after he rejected a contract and was then left out of the squad for Hull’s Cup tie due to a mysterious ‘injury’. The Birmingham Mail reports on the situation and we’ll have to see whether or not this man was on Roberto Di Matteo’s radar at all come the end of the window.
Hull City caretaker boss Mike Phelan doesn’t seem to reckon any deal will happen.
Enner Valencia
The second name that has flashed up for the Villa fans to debate over is Enner Valencia, an injury prone Ecuadorian attacker from West Ham with plenty of pace to burn. The Telegraph reported that we had a bid rejected by the Hammers because they are still keen on getting a new striker in before they sell one on. The price tag is rumoured to be around the £12-15million mark.
While Valencia hasn’t exactly set the world on fire at West Ham, has he been played in his best position all the time?
Stefano Okaka
The Daily Mail have reported that Villa have thrown their hat in the ring for Anderlecht’s Italian striker Stefano Okaka.
The 27-year-old once of Fulham striker isn’t exactly ‘world class’ with reportedly only Norwich also interested in him.
Beyond these players, pretty much any international striker with pace has been linked to Villa, including Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford. Rashford though is already better than a host of strikers in the Premier League, so Villa would be an odd move for him, even if it was just a short-term loan.
Shifting Deadwood
Now then, we still have a group of players that are keen to leave the club or we’re keen for them to leave, despite the numbers that have left already. With Adama Traore becoming a newcomer to the ‘bomb squad mark 100’ we should expect him to leave soon.
However, there are still a few individuals that are more immediate concerns and the two linked with moves away at this current time are Tim Sherwood signings Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott. The Guardian have reported on how Lescott was supposed to join Rangers but then a move fell through because of family issues.
As Lescott has been so hard to offload already, The Mirror has reported on how Di Matteo and co. are now considering that they might have to pay him off to rid him from the wage bill and avoid him doing an ‘N’Zogbia’. There’s also rumours of a move to Greece, but if Rangers caused family issues, surely any move overseas would too?
Still, the Villa owner on social media seem to be confident some club will take Lescott off Villa’s hands.
According to the Daily Star, Micah Richards has been linked with a move to Hull City which would be gladly received by the majority of Villa fans due to his consistently poor performances in a claret and blue shirt. His transfer seemed very positive at the beginning but I think confidence and mental stamina played a part in this one as Richards hasn’t even shown us flashes of his previous ability as a youngster.
A move to Turkey though looks more likely than sunny Hull, if reports in the last 24 hours are to be believed though.
In other news Joe Bennett looks to be heading to Cardiff City on a free transfer according to Doctor Tony.
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Whilst I applaud the mgt team for clearing out the deadwood, if all the outs are to happen, we will be short a right sided CB. Tho has Jedinak ever played there, I wonder.