OPINION
Aston Villa chairman Tony Xia must splash the cash to ensure that the Villans sign Lewis Grabban from Bournemouth in the summer as the 30-year-old has been a revelation during his loan spell at Villa Park.
Grabban was signed by the Villans in January on loan until the end of this season, and it is unthinkable that he might not be at the club next season.
Since arriving at the club, the centre-forward has been in red hot form, featuring 13 times for the Villans, scoring seven goals, while creating one.
If Grabban had not arrived at Villa Park it is worrying to think where Bruce’s side would be in the table, as the forward has been a reliable goal machine in recent weeks.
The Villans may have fallen slightly behind in the race for automatic promotion, as they currently sit three points behind second-placed Fulham, but they would be futher off the pace without Grabban.
Bruce’s side were struggling to get the goals needed to win games ahead of his arrival, with Scott Hogan failing to deliver the goods in Jonathan Kodjia’s absence.
The Birmingham Mail previously reported that there was no option in Grabban’s loan deal for Villa to sign him permanently, but it seems very likely that the Cherries will look to sell him in the summer.
The 30-year-old’s contract on the South coast expires in 2019 and if there is any chance that the club can get a decent transfer fee for him, they will sell him.
However with Grabban lighting the Championship up with his performances, it will no doubt see his value soar in order to cause his transfer to be an expensive one.
Despite this the Villans must go all out to sign him as he has taken to life at Villa Park like a duck takes to water, and he deserves to stay around for at least another season.
Therefore Xia must splash the cash in order to sign Grabban in the summer as his eye for goal is priceless if the club want success anytime soon – it will be a travesty if he ends up firing another club to glory instead.