As Villa look to be nearing the end of a summer improvement spending-spree, there could be at least another new face through the door ahead of the deadline.
With the arrival of Ross Barkley on loan for the season, Dean Smith has only the void left by the abrupt departure of Mbwana ‘Ally’ Samatta to fill.
Samatta left Villa after barely 9 months at the club, joining Turkish side Fenerbahce for the rest of the campaign ahead of a proposed permanent deal.
Villa already look improved for the addition of record signing Ollie Watkins from Brentford. The £33m purchase is yet to get off the mark in the Premier League, but both his performances and goals against Manchester United, Burton Albion and Bristol City illustrate his worth.
With Wesley ruled out until the New Year as still recuperating from a bad knee injury sustained last season and Keinan Davis yet to register a PL goal, Smith will know he needs to strengthen.
Promising American striker Indiana Vassilev is also with Burton Albion for the whole of the 2020/21 campaign.
However, the right supporting cast member for Watkins is proving difficult to come by. A surprise decision by Callum Wilson to join Newcastle remains a head-scratcher. Indeed, the list of potential strikers Villa have been linked to remains considerable:
- Rhian Brewster (Liverpool)
- Divock Origi (Liverpool)
- Teemu Pukki (Norwich City)
- Ante Budimir (Real Mallorca)
- Tammy Abraham (Chelsea)
- Gonzalo Higuain (Now of Inter Miami)
- Odsonne Edouard (Celtic)
- Alfredo Morelos (Rangers)
- Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City)
JOSH KING
Embed from Getty ImagesJosh King, Bournemouth’s Norwegian international striker had been linked with a move to Villa earlier in the transfer window. You can read about that here, as rumours now intensify with the deadling looming.
The Norwegian international is a free agent next summer and with the recently relegated South-Coast side eager to slash their wage bill, is available in a cut-price deal.
Smith will face competition for the signature. Spurs are also on the look-out for reinforcements, such as King and have even been linked (as with Villa) to Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke.
If Villa are serious about King it will reportedly set us back £10 million, which could well be a price worth paying for a short-term fix with Premier League experience.
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I see no reason why not. We need cover for Ollie.
I suspect that there is one more rabbit to be pulled out of Dean’s Villa beanie. Something to turn our salivating so far into a flood.
It’s a fantastic time to be a Villan, so different from the uncertainty we suffered for so long. Could we really become the club we should be? Exciting prospect.