All of the latest happenings in the January transfer window at Villa Park:
Tammy Abraham
Further to yesterday’s story that the Tammy Abraham deal to Wolves was off, the reason for this is widely reported that the England striker rejected a move to Molineux.
Whilst embarrassing for Wolves, who had mercilessly pursued Villa’s on-loan striker, the failed interest has alerted other interested suitors.
Crystal Palace are the latest side to have been linked, despite being a number of places and points worse off than Wolves in the Premier League. However, the lure of proximity to London can often be a big pull for players….as nice as Wolverhampton’s Mander Centre is….
Separately is appears a number of earlier reports suggesting that a fee in the region of £18 million had been agreed are wide of the mark. Chelsea instead appear keen to see Abraham develop, ideally in the Premier League admittedly, but have slapped an eye-watering £50 million price tag on his head.
You can read more about the facts & fiction of any deal for Tammy Abraham here – as well as more about the failed move to Wolves here.
ROMAINE SAWYERS
An earlier link to Brentford’s Romaine Sawyers has resurfaced as Middlesbrough reportedly enter the race for the former Albion academy midfielder.
Whilst this link is arguably tenuous at best, Sawyers might be viewed as a temporary stop gap whilst uncertainty remains over the length of layoff for Jack Grealish.
Whilst Sawyers can be considered a late developer, it’s of some debate as to whether he would be a significant improvement over and above options already within the Villa squad. Further, Brentford are likely to highly value their Captain, who still has 18 months remaining on his current contract.
JACK GREALISH
What with a new contract having been signed at Villa and his current injury, at least any January transfer worries regarding Jack Grealish aren’t an issue.
However, with Spurs having courted Grealish heavily owing to Villa’s financial woes in Summer 2018, they are sure to be keeping a watching brief.
Much is dependent upon what happens in the remainder of this campaign for both Villa and Grealish.
Assuming Grealish returns to fitness and resumes the form he has shown, it’s only reasonable to assume that his stock will continue to rise.
The deal-breaker will inevitably be whether Villa manage to secure promotion this season.
Any failure to do so would reasonably trigger Grealish considering his future career, Villa fan or not, as well as the club needing to balance the books.
Whilst Spurs aren’t anticipated to make any move this window according to the London based press, expect them to come back circling in Summer 2019 if Villa don’t get themselves back to the top flight.
ROSS MCCORMACK
Big money, superstar Villa flop Ross McCormack has now linked up with his latest loan side, Motherwell, at their winter training camp in Tenerife.
After sustaining a knee injury whilst on loan in Australia, McCormack has since returned to the UK, undergone treatment and been shipped north of the border.
Despite Villa’s indifferent striking at times, and arguably the need for a regular partner for Tammy Abraham, the ship appears to have sailed after the infamous Steve Bruce fall-out.
On his return to Motherwell, McCormack tellingly remarked:
I just think after the two years I’ve had it is a good time to come home, to a club you are familiar with, to a club you are wanted at and to just enjoy being a footballer again.
The 32 year old, under contract until June 2020 at Villa, will stand as one of the clubs all time greatest financial mistakes.
In addition to an outlay of £12 million transfer fee, McCormack’s 40k per week wages cannot be considered anything other than colossal waste.