Keinan Davis is being linked with a loan move to a Championship club for the upcoming season, and Aston Villa should arguably find the right deal for him.
The 23-year-old featured 18 times for Villa last season, scoring two goals and providing two assists in 442 minutes of football in total.
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Despite Wesley being out injured for the majority of the campaign, Davis still struggled to get playing time and opportunities to impress, with Ollie Watkins leading the Villa line throughout the year after his summer switch.
As per The Athletic, up to nine Championship clubs are said to be interested in the Villa forward, thus suggesting that he will have a plethora of options on the table in the coming weeks should it be decided that a loan move is the right move for him at this stage of his career.
While there is an argument in favour of keeping him at Villa this season, it seems the one supporting a loan switch is perhaps stronger.
Davis could benefit from right loan move for Villa future
Davis showed last season that he can come off the bench and make a positive impact on a game. He offers Villa a different threat in the final third with his physicality, movement and presence in the box.
That led to some important contributions, particularly in the latter stages of the season, and so there is evidence that he is improving and developing as a frontman and so perhaps for the sake of consistency and to maintain that improvement, he should stay with Dean Smith and the Villa senior squad.
However, it is clear that he still needs to work on key aspects of his all-round game, and the best way to do that is to gain experience through playing regularly to work on his weaknesses and maximise his strengths.
In turn, a loan move to a club that plays in a similar way to Villa could be a sensible move for all concerned, with Davis also having to think long-term and what it might do for his future at the club.
While he’s impactful in the build-up of play and can cause defenders problems in the box, he is still in need of more goals. If he can add that to his game, then Villa have a real player on their hands that can offer a bigger influence.
For now though, with Wesley coming back from his long injury layoff and hopefully with a full pre-season in his legs, the Brazilian will offer a similar option up front for Smith to use either with or instead of Watkins, and so Davis may see his minutes decline again.
With that in mind, a loan move starts to make more and more sense for this season, but it’s hoped that Davis is far from done in a Villa shirt and will ultimately come back a much improved and mature player for the experience.