Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has reiterated that the club is continuing to assess our options to improve his squad, and will prioritise replacing Diego Carlos.
The Brazilian centre-half’s move to Fenerbahce was confirmed this week, and coupled with the fact that Pau Torres is currently sidelined due to injury and will be missing for some time still, we’re now short in defence with a lack of competition and depth for Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.
READ MORE: Important boost for Villa ahead of West Ham clash but trio remain out
While talented youngster Lamare Bogarde can deputise in that position given his versatility, it’s not enough for Villa to be able to compete on multiple fronts against top-level opposition, and amid ongoing speculation linking us with a move for a reinforcement, Emery has indeed confirmed that the club’s intention is to sign another defender before the end of the January transfer window to fill the void left by Carlos.
“We are open to trying to improve the squad until the last moment, and as well, we are open in case someone is leaving,” he told the media, as per VillaTV.
“Of course, Diego Carlos left in the last week, and we have to replace him, and of course we are as well focusing on which players could be potential players to replace Diego Carlos.”
Villa have already been active this month following the signings of Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia, while Carlos and Jaden Philogene have departed to help balance the books as we continue to improve and strengthen the squad.
Those two new arrivals strengthen two areas of the group that required improvement, and so the transfer window has been positive thus far, and hopefully that continues heading into the latter stages of it.
That said, it’s clear that our defence is still an issue and so hopefully that will be addressed as a priority, while we’re seemingly open to moves in other areas if the right targets become available, and most likely if we’re able to shift those already at Emery’s disposal to make space for them.
For now, it’s hoped that Mings and Konsa stay fit and avoid injury in our upcoming games against West Ham Utd and Celtic in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, as we’ll certainly need them available until a new face arrives to bolster our options and Torres is able to make his comeback.