Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has hinted that the club could still move to strengthen both our attack and midfield before the end of the January transfer window.
Villa have officially completed one signing so far this month after Alex Moreno’s arrival from Real Betis, while the club have confirmed that an agreement has been reached to sign youngster Jhon Duran from Chicago Fire in a permanent transfer.
READ MORE: Unai Emery on Danny Ings exit, leaves door open for Villa duo to leave too
However, after Emery confirmed that Danny Ings is set to leave us to join West Ham, the Villa boss suggested that we will try to bring in a reinforcement in attack to fill the void that he leaves behind.
“The idea is to get the balance with another striker,” he told the media on Thursday, as per the club’s official Twitter. “It’s going to be very difficult to sign a striker to improve our team and squad, but we will try to do it now, or in the summer.”
Time will tell if a deal can be done for the right target, but if not, Ollie Watkins will be tasked with leading the Villa line as first choice with Leon Bailey also available to play up front if needed, while there is excitement over Duran’s development with the right coaching and if he’s given time and patience.
With Cameron Archer joining Middlesbrough on loan for the rest of the season, it does feel as though we are short up front and so a signing this month would be a welcome boost. However, as he has stressed since he arrived, Emery only wants to bring in players who significantly improve us, and so time will tell if we can achieve that this month.
Meanwhile, he also hinted at the possibility of bringing in another midfielder in the next two weeks, but that hinges on possible exits first with both Marvelous Nakamba and Morgan Sanson given the green light to move on.
“Nakamba and Sanson have the possibility to leave,” he added. “If they leave, the idea is to maybe add one more player as a midfielder.”
Time will tell if acceptable offers come in for the pair, as ultimately if they don’t, then it seems highly unlikely that there will be any incomings in that department as noted by Emery above.
However, should they both find solutions elsewhere, it will be fascinating to see who we target for that area of the pitch, as we certainly have plenty of options still with Boubacar Kamara, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey, John McGinn, Leander Dendoncker, Philippe Coutinho and Buendia all vying for places.
It promises to be a fascinating fortnight ahead in terms of what Villa do in the transfer market, as it certainly sounds as though we’ll still be active in trying to improve Emery’s squad.