Aston Villa could reportedly be open to moving on a trio of players in January, with Leander Dendoncker, Bertrand Traore and Calum Chambers paired with an exit.
The upcoming transfer window will be an intriguing one for us, as it remains to be seen if Unai Emery feels comfortable with the strength in depth that he has at his disposal currently to sustain our impressive first half of the campaign.
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With the likes of Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings to come back from long-term injuries and despite ongoing knocks across the squad which have sidelined the likes of Jacob Ramsey, Alex Moreno and Youri Tielemans at various times, we’ve still had the depth required to continue our excellent form.
However, as we have done in the previous two transfer windows, Emery and the management team will no doubt meticulously analyse what we need and what’s available in the mid-season market, and if the right deal is there to be made, we’ll hopefully see reinforcements arrive.
That said, there could also be further departures, as according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein in his January transfer window guide, he has suggested that Dendoncker, Traore and Chambers could all leave next month.
Dendoncker has featured 12 times so far this season, totalling 238 minutes of football. Traore has made six appearances but with a total of just 43 minutes of playing time, while Chambers has appeared three times and played for 178 minutes.
On one hand, we would be losing depth and cover in certain positions, and as a gruelling season enters the final stages, it could be something that we regret if fatigue and an inability to rest players becomes a more prominent concern.
However, given how limited the trio’s involvement has been thus far and with Emery still having options available to him ahead of them in the pecking order, it does seem to make sense to trim the wage bill and secure any possible transfer fees to help continue to build a more competitive squad in the long term.
Time will tell if the interest is there in any of the three players though and if a suitable offer is made for Villa to green light an exit, but there seemingly could be movement in January.