Aston Villa are reportedly keeping tabs on Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas with a view of a possible swoop next summer.
After a contentious transfer window this past summer with speculation heavily linking Emiliano Martinez with a departure, the Argentine shot-stopper ultimately stayed with us and has continued to play an important part so far this season.
Marco Bizot was signed to add more competition and depth in that department, and the Dutchman has proven to be a savvy addition to the squad having impressed when called upon thus far.
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However, perhaps with doubts lingering over whether or not Martinez will stay at Villa long term, Sky Sport Germany reporter Patrick Berger claims that Villa have added Nicolas to our shortlist for the summer transfer window next year as a potential replacement for our current first-choice goalkeeper.
It’s added that Monchengladbach have been alerted by this and are considering their own options in terms of a successor in case Nicolas departs at the end of the season, but time will tell if the pieces fall into place for this to evolve into a reshuffle for the clubs concerned.
The 28-year-old initially joined the Bundesliga side in 2015, but he has had a string of loan moves elsewhere since and has made just 66 appearances for the club.
As per Berger though, he has impressed this season having now settled and established himself, as he’s made 15 appearances across all competitions and has conceded 24 goals while keeping five clean sheets.
Villa missed out on a number of touted transfer targets in the summer as Martinez’s future remained uncertain, and so it’s feasible that we’ve moved on and looked at other solutions in case he still opts to move on. However, that’s a big if at the moment, as with our recovery after a poor start to the campaign, it remains to be seen what we can achieve this year and whether or not that’s enough to keep him at the club.
Nevertheless, it’s sensible planning at this stage to ensure we are covered either way, and it will be a fascinating process in the coming months to see who emerges as our priority transfer targets, with President of Football Operations, Roberto Olabe, overseeing his first transfer window with us as he looks to influence our transfer strategy and signings moving forward.
