Aston Villa are reportedly not planning to make an offer to sign either Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Luis Suarez this summer.
It’s been a busy transfer window already for Villa and Steven Gerrard, with Philippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos and Robin Olsen all signing, while Matt Targett has left the club.
READ MORE: Five players at risk of leaving Aston Villa this summer
With Gerrard looking to continue to stamp his mark on the squad, further signings and exits are expected in the coming weeks, but it appears that there are two touted transfer targets who are not on the Villa radar.
As per BBC’s Phil McNulty, Villa will not be making a move to sign Oxlade-Chamberlain from Liverpool, while they have no intention on trying to swoop for Suarez in the coming months either.
Considering what we have in the current squad coupled with the limited impact that that duo might make if they were to join, it seems to be a smart move from Villa’s perspective not to move for either this summer.
While any additional exits may force Gerrard into a re-think, it’s arguably quite difficult to see the benefit that either Oxlade-Chamberlain or Suarez would bring to the group beyond their experience and pedigree at the top level, with both having perhaps seen their best years pass by already while not particularly fitting the bill of what we’re trying to now build.
Time will tell which targets do arrive as further reinforcements are expected, but for now, the focus is seemingly on trimming the squad down before looking to bring in more new faces to bolster the Villa ranks.
