Aston Villa are in the hunt to sign Southampton forward Shane Long on loan, however Steve Bruce is not confident that he will be able to convince the Republic of Ireland international to drop down to the Championship, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The newspaper claims on their website that Bruce is considering a move for the ex-West Brom star, 31, as he looks to solve his shortage of available centre-forwards at Villa Park.
Long, who earns £60,000-a-week on his deal at St Mary’s according to statistics website Spotac, has made just one appearance from the bench in Southampton’s opening Premier League fixtures.
Good move for Aston Villa?
Long has never been much of a goalscorer and if Bruce was able to sign him on loan before the end of August, then he would only really be adding strength in depth and not solving his side’s lack of goals.
The Ireland international has scored just 27 goals in 154 appearances across all competitions for Southampton, with just two of them coming in the Premier League last season.
Even a drop down to the Championship wouldn’t see Long score goals because he simply isn’t that kind of forward.
He can run defences ragged, win headers and will give 100 per cent in every game, but he never gets himself in the position to score and that is why Villa should really avoid him.
This is Futbol rating 3/10
Likely to happen?
If Bruce is not confident that he is able to pull off a loan swoop for Long, then it is safe to say that this deal probably won’t happen unless Mark Hughes tries to force the ex-Reading man out of the door.
Villa have been linked with other forwards in this report, including Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, and it is understood he is their top target so it is more likely that they will land him than Long.
This is Futbol rating 2/10