With Villa heavily linked to Brentford full-back Rico Henry in recent days, it is clear that Dean Smith is looking to shore up all areas of the squad, including the defence.
Having added a goalkeeper (Martinez), striker (Watkins) and new right-back (Cash), there are also a number of unfinished pieces of transfer business before Villa’s season opener against Sheffield United this Monday.
The club are awaiting the outcome of an application for work permit for Bertrand Traore, whilst any move for Milot Rashica appears frustratingly protracted.
The link to 23 year old Henry appears a logical investment in a up-and-coming modern full-back, however it’s unclear whether Villa can afford to pay over the odds again to a Brentford side who are being asset stripped in terms of player from all angles.
Though Henry fits the bill in terms of his promise and age range, the club will be mindful of not being held over a barrel with teams aware of Villa being both cash rich but in need of reinforcements.
A more temporary but arguably cost effective transfer rumour to emerge is that Tottenham defender Danny Rose.
Embed from Getty ImagesRose, now 30, has been spectacularly frozen out at Spurs and having returned from a loan spell with Newcastle hasn’t even been awarded a squad number for the new campaign. He has also been on the receiving end of some eyebrow raising treatment given his long service, finding himself training with the Under-23’s during pre-season.
Rose is known to be in discussions about a possible move to Italian side Genoa, but Villa may now appeal for a player who was once a consistent regular for England.
Rose is out of contract at the end of this season, suggesting that a nominal fee would be enough to bring him to Villa Park. However, the players wage, thought to be in the region of £65,000 per week, would require some negotiation.
On Villa’s strive for continous improvement, Rose would perhaps represent a calculated risk.
The defender’s career had been solid until the last couple of seasons and the club have been down this road before in terms of acquiring players past their sell by date.
However, for the right price, Rose could bring all of the Premier League experience he’s gained since 2013 for a relatively small outlay. It would also provide cover or alternatives for the injury prone Matty Targett and Welsh international Neil Taylor.
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Not convinced by this one. Rose is on a reported £60k a week. While he would probably represent an upgrade on Taylor, the wages alone refute any idea of it being a “cut price” deal, and his age means he’d be a short term solution at best. It’s not a move that would seem to fit out current recruitment strategy or wage structure.
Henry would seem to be a much better option, if Brentford are willing to play ball.
There’s something going on with Rose at Spurs, he’s clearly out of favour and I imagine they’re trying to get him off the wage bill. West Ham may be a destination for him if they can’t land Tarkowski