Aston Villa could reportedly look to potential loan deals in order to strengthen the squad ahead of the January transfer window deadline.
Villa have been active already this month with the signings of Alex Moreno and Jhon Duran, but after a string of exits and more possibly to come, there is a sense that Unai Emery could do with further depth and competition.
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However, since he arrived in October, the Spaniard has insisted that he will only sign players who significantly improve the squad, and the idea of going for quality over quantity should be welcomed given we’ve spent most of this month moving on players who were signed by former managers and have arguably long been deemed surplus to requirements.
While it appears as though we may have found it difficult to agree deals to sign Emery’s preferred targets on a permanent basis so far this month, The Express and Star report that Villa could now look to potential loan signings between now and the transfer deadline.
It’s added that an experienced striker is high on Emery’s list, and so it remains to be seen if a deal can be secured for an option that he’s keen to bring in.
If our top targets aren’t available this month, that is arguably the most sensible idea for short-term boosts as ultimately it’s a questionable strategy to start splashing out big money on players further down the priority list.
With Villa currently sat in 11th place in the Premier League but just three points adrift of sixth place, it feels as though we have an excellent shot at possibly securing a European qualification spot. In turn, bringing in reinforcements this month to boost our hopes would be a welcome move, but the long-term strategy is of course fundamental and so we need make smart decisions.
There’s full trust in Emery’s judgement on what we need and who is best placed to improve us, and so if a permanent swoop can’t materialise in the next 24 hours or so, hopefully we can address our squad issues in the loan market instead for the remainder of this campaign.