More of today’s transfer developments as the final hours of the window approach…
Hogan’s Run
It seemed unlikely that Villa would splash the cash on another forward around the £10m mark but it’s becoming increasingly likely that the mystery man signing cited earlier could be Brentford striker Scot Hogan.
Earlier reports of Brentford wanting in the region of £15m at the time seemed seriously wide of the mark, especially considering he missed most of last season through injury (knee).
He certainly seems to be over his troubles judging by his ‘one-in-two’ record this season with 14 goals in 27 matches.
Hogan was expected to go to West Ham for an upfront fee of £9.5m with £3m to follow, but this has seemingly broken down and Villa are now in the frame with serious intent.
The fee is expected to be around £9m and judging by the West Ham deal, potential add-ons, so slightly less than it might have ended up costing to prise Jordan Rhodes from Middlesbrough.
Hogan is already expected not to feature in Villa’s Tuesday evening trip to his current club the Bees.
After West Ham had publicly come calling for the 24-year-old, it looks like he may end up in the right claret and blue shirt yet.
Essentially the Ayew cash and also this following outgoing player will cover the bill…
Westwood to the Premier League
When Ashley Westwood was earlier touted to have Burnley courting him for £6m it seemed mighty unlikely, especially with a lack of solid evidence around, but now pretty much every newspaper is reporting the deal is going ahead for a fee around the £4m to £5m mark.
A continuation of earlier interest from the summer? Seems like it.
Villa had been concerned about selling the midfielder to a fellow a Championship club, as there was a train of thought he could come good within the right team. Selling him to Burnley would obviously avoid any such concerns.
The transfer fee would mark a profit, which considering his troubled time at Villa Park and the club’s recent track record in the transfer market, would be considered a bonus.
From earlier…
Ayew Out / Taylor In
By the look of Tony Xia’s latest equation it looks like Swansea City are close to taking Jordan Ayew off Villa’s hands for a fee of around £5m, plus left-back Neil Taylor in a part-exchange transfer.
Swansea boss Paul Clement has publicly spoken about the transfer (which means it’s very much on).
“Hopefully he can follow in his brother’s footsteps,” Clement said. “He knows a lot about the club, I’m sure that’s why he’s happy to come here.
“He is doing really well at the African Nations Cup and we’re bringing someone in with versatility and a different kind of striker to what we’ve got. Neil Taylor has been a great servant to the club and Villa will be a nice challenge for him.”
After Cissokho left for Greece, Taylor could provide competition for Jordan Amavi at left-back and it’ll be interesting to see if he actually replaces him at any point in the season, considering some of Amavi’s defensive lapses.
Tshibola Out
With Villa now well stocked for midfielders with the three new signings in the window, Aaron Tshibola has already departed, as earlier reported. The midfielder leaves on a loan to Nottingham Forest agreed to the end of the season.
The £5m man who has only shown occasional sparks of his talent in the Villa midfield, when the team needed him to take more responsibility. There have been question marks over his attitude and maturity, so maybe a loan period away will help get him on the right track or at least put him in the shop window.
No doubt both Henri Lansbury and Gary Gardner helped sell the move to Forest to him.
UTV
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Perhaps with Taylor’s arrival Bruce may be planning to utilise Amavi further up the pitch. He would probably be more effective and his defensive deficiencies would no longer be a problem
its a good option to have,,,,,,, and you can see it happening although much depends on mr grealishs performances
I’d be concerned if Bruce hasn’t realised Grealish isn’t a winger at this stage