With only four games to go until the half-way mark to the season, it’s no surprise with only six points that Aston Villa are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table. Embarrassingly Villa haven’t won since the opening day of the weekend and new manager Rémi Garde is still looking for his first victory at Villa Park. To say Villa are in a bit of a spot right now is a bit of an understatement and could do with a bit of luck to change their fortunes.
Villa’s current situation is no surprise though. Bookies predicted Villa to go down at the beginning of the season when Tim Sherwood was still in charge and Rémi Garde’s appointment has changed very little, with Villa Park increasingly looking like it will be hosting Championship football next season.
However, Villa can take heart from the upcoming transfer window and while owner Randy Lerner might not want to pump too much money into the club with the looming threat of relegation, Villa could exploit the market with short loan deals or experienced players on cheap contracts. Staying in touch by gaining a few points in December will be key to Lerner’s willingness to venture beyond that.
Still, recent press reports have suggested three players that they could consider signing next month, plus a target for the long-term.
Ashley Cole
The former Chelsea man still has a lot to give and would provide stability and reliability to Villa’s gaping defence. At the moment, Kieran Richardson just isn’t cutting it at left-back and Garde’s men are allowing too much space down that particular flank. It would be foolish to pin the entire blame on Richardson but he’s simply not a defensive-minded player.
Although he’s ageing, Cole would bring vast amounts of experience to Villa Park – which would be crucial both on and off the field. It may not be plausible but Cole has struggled to make an impact for Roma so may be looking for a return to English football in the near future.
It’s likely though Cole would ultimately see Villa’s position as too much hard work and what has he got to prove in the Premier League any more? Cole may prefer to opt for a lifestyle choice to look to the MLS instead.
Still, it looks at least like the Villa boss will have a word with him.
Loic Remy
Loic Remy is a genuine talent and is gettable. The French connection with manager Remi Garde may well appeal to Remy, who is currently plying his trade for Chelsea. Despite Diego Costa’s struggles, he hasn’t had much game time this season and could prosper from a move to Villa Park ahead of next summer’s European Championships.
Remy was an inspiration at Newcastle and Queens Park Rangers a few years ago but couldn’t prevent the Hoops from suffering relegation. However, Villa are desperate for a goal scorer after the loss of Christian Benteke, and the Frenchman could be the man to keep Villa up this season if he regains his scoring touch. If he makes the move, he’d certainly have to finish the campaign as Villa’s leading scorer to keep them up.
Salvatore Sirigu
If there one player that Villa do need to build more confidence at the back and that’s a new goalkeeper. Rumours doing the rounds at the moment are that former first-choice Paris Saint-Germain keeper Salavatore Sirigu, who has been benched in favour of young German keeper Kevin Trapp.
Reports of some friction between Sirigu and Laurent Blanc is brewing suggest that the Italian keeper maybe looking for a move away in at least the short-term with the Euros around the corner.
Valued at £7 million, it’s unlikely Lerner would part with that cash in Villa current predicament to secure the keeper’s services long-term, but a loan until the end of season would make sense to all parties.
In the final part of last season Brad Guzan was dropped in favour of Shay Given to be Villa’s number one, yet the club started the season with the out-of-favour keeper back in pole position after shipping off Given to Stoke. Guzan hasn’t had a great start to the season, but also faces little proper competition from Mark Bunn. It’s not a situation that exactly fills you with a lot of faith in the recruitment team at Villa.
One for the future?
Samuel Bastien
Samuel Bastian is widely regarded as one of Europe’s top young prospects and Villa have been linked with the enthusiastic 19-year-old midfielder. If Jack Grealish fails to pull his socks up after his recent disciplining, Villa may have to look elsewhere for an added bit of dynamite in midfield and Bastien may provide this.
Surely though, Bastian with his lack of experience would offer little in terms of this season’s struggle, but he may be part of Garde’s (or the infamous transfer committee’s) long-term vision.
He has already played on a handful of occasions for Belgium’s under-19 national team and enjoyed success alongside fellow prospect Youri Tielemans before he was loaned out to Serie B side Avellino earlier this season. One to look out for in the future.
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Hello every1 great day isnt it,im from the north of ireland im 35years old been supporting villa since the age of 5,i very rarely come onto any site to complain but i have to tonite to keep myself sane,1 question i have to ask is who the fuck told these people they can play football and who the fuk is paying there wages because i no that if it was me paying them i would get them into my office every single 1 of them and tell them to go fuk themselves they are an embarrasment to themselves the club and us fans,guzan i mean please explain why this man is still a keeper he cant catch or kick,lescott villa man my bollocks,sanchez fuk me,huttonfuk me gestede who paid 6mill for that needs took out the back of villa park and shot i could go through the whole team absolute joke from top to bottom,no fight no passion no balls not 1 of them how can they go home and look there fellow men in the eye il not be back to villa pk they can all go and fuk themselves