OPINION
As well as preparing for another push at promotion from the Championship this season, Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce may also have one eye on what he is going to do if the club do return to the top flight, with his transfer plans seemingly considering the medium and long term as well as the short.
With the club’s financial woes now buried firmly at the back of minds at Villa Park, the focus now lies on ensuring that the first team have the desired quality and experience to make a charge for a top six finish once again – although the fact that the summer was disrupted by the monetary meltdown did not help.
It could well have set the Villans back a few weeks and in doing so, has left Bruce forced to scour the loan market – rather than the permanent one – in a bid for new recruits, with the Championship side having until the end of August to bring in any temporary arrivals.
Now the Birmingham Mail are claiming that Bruce has still got his eyes on top target Tammy Abraham, a man he has been pursuing all summer, and that there could be a potential loan-to-buy move tabled for the Chelsea hitman, with the Villa boss said to be eyeing up talents he can secure temporarily but turn permanent on a potential return to the Premier League.
Now if the Villans can get Abraham, it would be brilliant, but getting any sort of option to take him permanently would be a masterstroke from Bruce.
With 23 goals in 41 Championship appearances, he would be a lethal hitman up top this season, and giving the 20-year-old the chance to integrate into the side at Villa Park for a season before potentially sealing a transfer would make him ready to take on the Premier League – with 33 top flight appearances already.
Chelsea might be reluctant to commit to an agreed transfer, so maybe having first call on sealing his move would be a better option – but whatever way, Bruce is plotting an exciting future for the club.