Aston Villa reportedly have specific positions in which we’d like to strengthen this month, while there could potentially be further exits too.
It’s been an excellent season thus far, as we sit in second place in the Premier League table with 42 points from our opening 20 games.
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Further, we’ve advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa Conference League, and although there have been some setbacks and disappointments along the way, it’s been a positive campaign and there is excitement over what’s potentially ahead in the second half of it.
That in turn makes this January transfer window fascinating. While Unai Emery has always insisted that we will only sign players if they significantly improve what we already have, there will be an interesting balance with bringing players in who could not only help us sustain our form thus far, but possibly even kick on again.
Much will depend on who’s available and if the right deals can be done of course, but according to The Telegraph, a new forward and a right-back are our priorities, with more depth and cover for Ollie Watkins and competition for Matty Cash on the agenda in what would be a sensible double move, while we could look to add a new goalkeeper too for depth behind Emiliano Martinez.
While Ezri Konsa has done a great job when asked to shift across and play at right-back, we would surely prefer to have him play in his more natural position in the middle, and so having another option to compete with Cash would be an important addition to the squad.
As for a new forward and goalkeeper, those would also make sense given our current lack of depth in those areas, while it’s added in the Telegraph’s transfer overview that there is growing interest in Jhon Duran amid alleged friction with Emery.
Given the youngster is the only real alternative we have to play up top and rest Watkins, if he were to leave, that would make signing a striker a clear priority to ensure we have enough firepower in the squad.
Further, it’s added that Bertrand Traore, Calum Chambers and Tim Iroegbunam could also leave this month either permanently or on loan. In the case of Traore and Chambers, neither seemingly have a role to play given their limited involvement so far this season and so exits make sense for that duo, particularly if we want to raise the level in the squad and bring in new faces.
In contrast though, Iroegbunam is a top talent and it would certainly be a shame to see him leave on a permanent basis, and so it’s hoped that Villa are looking at a loan stint for him to continue to gain experience and develop elsewhere with more playing time.
i think cover for Kamara, Cash, Watkins and an extra centre back. every time that we have injuries, suspensions or in cup competitions, the replacements are not good enough.