Jordan Rhodes
What with Rudy Gestede having joined Middlesbrough for £6m and absenstees Kodjia & Ayew now at the Africa Cup of Nations, Villa’s need for striking recruits is evident.
Compound this with the alternatives being a struggling Ross McCormack, ill-suited Gabby Agbonlahor or rookie Hepburn Murphy.
It’s certainly the time to be taking decisive steps to safeguard the next month, enabling us to retain a fighting chance of making the playoffs.
Oh, how our aspirations for the season have suddenly diluted.
There have been ongoing rumours linking Villa to 26 year old Jordan Rhodes. The club now have much to ponder, having been reportedly quoted a fee of around £10 million to secure his services.
Henri Lansbury
Steve Bruce has now confirmed the earlier reported interest in the Nottingham Forest midfielder.
A bid in the region of £3 million is believed to be on the table – Forest are potentially holding out for £4m – Read more here.
There’s little debate to be had that the former Arsenal man would improve the Villa midfield.
Leandro Bacuna
The inconsistent midfielder hasreportedly been attracting interest from both Turkey and the Chinese Super League. The latter are apparently signing everyone in this window for at least £25 million; a fee we would certainly accept in this case.
To be fair to Bacuna he has shown brief moments of promise in a Villa career that has badly lost its way. There have been bright spots, such as a notable attacking performance [vs. Sunderland] which saw him make the European team of the week in March 2015.
However, the positives are few and far between. The reality of whether he fits part of the clubs future look heavily weighted in favour of “no”.
Whilst improved to some degree this term, his performances in our relegation season drew heavy and broadly justified criticism. He cut a lost and hopeless figure, when girt and determination were required.
Those dismal displays aside, the international midfielder may be aggrieved at how his development has been nurtured at Villa Park. A particular annoyance being the fact he was deployed at right back on any number of occasions, often to disastrous effect.
Sam Johnstone
The 23 year old Manchester United goalkeeper joins Villa on a loan deal until the end of the season. Welcome aboard!