OPINION
Aston Villa must reignite their previously reported interest in Peterborough United’s Jack Marriott in the summer.
The Daily Mail claimed in December that the Villans were interested in signing the 23-year-old centre-forward and that the League One club could sell him for as little as £2.5million.
The newspaper went on to state that competition for his signature was tough with Queens Park Rangers, Millwall and Sunderland all keen on Marriott too.
Steve Bruce’s side were in need of buying a striker in the January window, but didn’t, as they were far from prolific without Jonathan Kodjia in the team.
The Villans’ lack of goals has continued to hold them back and even with Kodjia returning from injury, as he made a cameo appearance against Hull City in his side’s last game, they need a new forward at the club.
Marriott was in prolific form when he reportedly grabbed the Villans’ attention and has continued to score on a regular basis.
The hotshot has now scored an impressive 24 goals in 39 appearances in League One this season.
Marriott’s continued impressive form had his Peterborough manager Steve Evans heaping praise on him after the forward scored against Rotherham on Friday.
“If Marriott’s in a Championship side that makes chances he’d be the league’s leading goalscorer,” stated Evans on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, as quoted by BBC Sports’ website.
“This boy’s up there with the Dwight Gayles of this world and he (Gayle) was exceptional.
“One thing we have is, just simply, the best goalscorer I’ve ever worked with. He’s absolutely stunning.
“That young man is most likely going to go and join an absolutely huge club in the summer – that’s unless the chairman continues to do what he did in the January window when he was turning down, I think, around £6.5m or £7m.”
While the centre-forward’s price has significantly risen, according to Evans, since Villa were first reported as interested, Bruce’s side should still go all out to sign him.
This is even the case if they win promotion to the Premier League, as the 23-year-old forward could still be a useful squad player for a top-flight team.
Marriott could eventually become a forward worthy of playing in the Premier League regularly, as he is only 23-years-old and destined to get better with more experience.
Therefore Villans chairman Tony Xia must splash the cash on Marriott in the summer as the Villans need a prolific forward just like him in order to improve.