Aston Villa: Unai Emery considering loan move for experienced striker
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Aston Villa are willing to enter the loan market before Tuesday’s deadline, with Unai Emery seeking an experienced striker, according to Matt Maher of the Express & Star.
The Lowdown: Top scorer gone
Villa have scored 23 times in 20 Premier League games, the second lowest tally among the top 11 teams in the division. Danny Ings netted six of those and was the top scorer in the Midlands, but as we know, he was sold to West Ham earlier this month in a deal worth around £15m.
Teenager Jhon Duran has arrived at Villa Park from Chicago Fire, but it looks as if another striker is wanted in the next 48 hours.
The Latest: Loan signing possible
Maher, chief sports writer for the Express and Star, shared a story in the last 24 hours regarding Villa’s transfer plans.
He claimed that the club are ‘preparing to enter the loan market if they are unable to land one of their top attacking targets in the final hours of the transfer window’, with Emery still hoping to bring in an experienced forward.
The Verdict: Good thinking
Duran and Ollie Watkins are the only centre-forward options available to Emery, with youngster Cameron Archer joining Middlesbrough on loan. Therefore, you can see why another forward is wanted by the manager, potentially one who can operate anywhere across the front three after the 51-year-old gave the green light in that regard back in November.
It could be too late in the month to secure a top target, though, with a reported £45m move for Atletico Bilbao’s Nico Williams failing, so it could be a wise move to look at a stop-gap deal until the summer. It will be interesting to see who that could be, with someone like Lyon’s Moussa Dembele a potential option following rumours earlier in the month of a cut-price transfer.
