Aston Villa manager Dean Smith may return to old club Brentford in the January transfer window, with Bees left back Rico Henry a possible signing, according to the Express & Star.
The newspaper claims that the Villans are targeting a goalkeeper, centre back and left back once the New Year rolls around, with Henry a player who could be brought in.
Ørjan Nyland has looked suspect at times between the sticks for Villa this season, while the team is light on centre halves. Neil Taylor is the only recognised left back in the squad.
Henry has shown flashes of potential in the past but the 21-year-old has been beset by injuries in recent years and has made just three appearances this campaign.
Good move for Aston Villa?
It all depends on whether Henry has put his injury problems behind him. He has been limited to 11 appearances in two seasons for Brentford due to a knee injury and that makes him an extremely risky signing for Villa. Prior to that he had been excelling with Villa’s near neighbours Walsall, but what sort of player he is now remains to be seen. If Smith has faith in him then that’s probably enough for the club to sanction his signing, but it’s worth mentioning that the youngster never featured regularly under the current Villa boss at Griffin Park. It is bit of a risky signing, but with Taylor the only left back at the club perhaps it’s one worth taking.
This is Futbol rating: 5/10
Likely to happen?
Well Henry’s not really featuring with Brentford on a regular basis and he obviously has a connection to Smith so you wouldn’t have thought this would be a hard deal to get done. If Villa really want the player then it’s likely they’ll bring him in come January.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10