Aston Villa’s move for Watford winger Ismaila Sarr is reportedly set to fall through amid issues over the terms of an agreement between the two clubs and on personal terms.
Sarr, 24, scored five goals and provided two assists in 22 appearances in the Premier League last season, while he has made a positive start to this campaign too as Watford look for an immediate return to the top flight.
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Despite being strongly linked with a move to Villa, it appears as though it won’t be going through as The Telegraph’s John Percy reports, with the £25m swoop set to collapse due to issues over the structure of the deal between the two clubs as well as with personal terms with Sarr.
It’s added that both Cameron Archer and Kortney Hause were expected to move in the opposite direction on loan, but at this stage, the deal appears to be dead.
While Sarr would have been an exciting addition to our attacking options, and potentially would have allowed Steven Gerrard to change the system with another winger at his disposal, the move did raise question marks given our need for reinforcements in other areas of the squad.
Both the defence and midfield have clearly been weaknesses in our opening three games of the season, and those issues even date back to last year as we look vulnerable at the back and have no real control of presence in the middle of the pitch which have been long-standing problems that have yet to be solved.
Particularly with Diego Carlos being ruled out with a long-term injury too, we need to address these concerns and not prioritise adding another attacking option to the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey, with Gerrard struggling to get the best out of those currently available to him.
Time will tell if the focus for Villa now switches to a centre-half and a midfielder, as it should have been initially as a priority, but it certainly sounds as though our hopes of signing Sarr before the transfer deadline are over.