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Your latest fix of Aston Villa transfer rumours as Roberto Di Matteo looks to make up for lost time in rebuilding our beleaguered squad:
First up is a link to peripheral Chelsea youngster Patrick Bamford. The 22 year old sticks in the memory for an impressive spell 2 seasons ago whilst on loan at Middlesbrough. He won ‘Boro’s Player of The Season award and netted 17 times.
Bamford has a solid goal to game ratio outside of the Premier League and has had similarly productive season long loans at MK Dons and Derby. The only question marks seem to be around loans to sides Crystal Palace and Norwich who opted to use the England U21 international sparingly
With opportunities inevitably limited at a Chelsea side with the pick of European talent, it’s rational that he might opt for a permanent move. Villa will need to be on the hunt for a goalscorer such as this, having obvious deficiencies in a part of the squad featuring the likes of Agbonlahor & Gestede.
Bamford is contracted until 2018 at Stamford Bridge and would reportedly command a hefty fee in the region of £10 million.
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Goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist’s contract had not been renewed by the club. The 24 year old has departed and immediately signed for Swiss Super League side FC Vaduz.
It’s hard to fathom how the highly rated ‘keeper never featured at all given the state of the clubs goalkeeping, particularly on the last 12 months viewing. Vital Villa have published a short piece which makes the Swiss’ players exclusion all the more puzzling.
Another real head scratcher is a link to former Albion midfielder Graham Dorrans. Despite enjoying a productive period under Di Matteo at The Hawthorns [7 years ago], it’s difficult to recall anything before or since which inspires great confidence.
Further, the Scotsman was used sparingly in a Norwich side that at times looked as bad as Villa last term.
The recurring link to Dwight Gayle has reared its head once more. The interesting striker, again puzzlingly overlooked at Palace, is reportedly back on Villa’s radar.
Villa were heavily linked in the close season of 2015 as Tim Sherwood desperately tried to improve the front line. We all know how that turned out. Gayle was on the brink of joining Bristol City, only for the deal to be pulled at the last minute.
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Gayle has decent pedigree and at just 25 years old, certainly has his best footballing years ahead of him. Despite mixed opportunities and some question marks over injury proneness at Palace, Gayle does have experience scoring goals at a lower level and may see Villa as a springboard for a stalled period in his career.
Callum Robinson’s time at Villa Park appears to be nearing it’s end. The once promising young striker [how many times have we said that?] has seen his fortunes reverse after an initial clutch of decent performances out on loan.
Robinson’s problem appears to be a matter of consistency in front of goal and getting caught up in the “hippy crack” debacle won’t have done much for his stock around B6.
It’s interesting to draw a comparison between Robinson and Baker who both featured at Bristol City last term. Robinson will struggle to be remembered, whereas Baker’s displays may yet lead to a recall at Villa Park.
With 6 goals from over 40 senior appearances for the 21 year old, the time must surely be now or never. Especially when compared against the likes of Patrick Bamford.
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