OPINION
As if Saturday’s humbling 3-0 defeat against Swansea in the FA Cup was not tough enough to swallow for Aston Villa fans, they face the prospect of losing star striker Tammy Abraham to their midlands rivals.
Sky Sports report that the Chelsea loanee is on the brink of agreeing a move away from Villa Park and to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers – a move which would see Dean Smith’s side lose much, if not all, of their firepower up front.
A new striker this month would be an absolute necessity upon Abraham’s exit if the club want to have any hope of securing a Premier League return – but where are they going to find someone of the quality they desire for a feasible price.
Well, they could do a lot worse than West Ham’s Lucas Perez who according to the Daily Mail is being given the green light to leave east London just months after his arrival.
Now there is no doubting that the Spaniard is out of Villa’s financial reach but a loan raid for the striker, who has four goals in 13 appearances this season, is a reasonable suggestion and one which fills the absence of Abraham quite nicely.
A fox in the box but with a physical presence about him, Perez needs to rediscover his goal scoring confidence if he is to make it at the Hammers and a drop into the Championship can give him exactly what he needs.
He should walk the second tier with his crafty movement and top flight experience and while he is not a like-for-like replacement for their current star man, his arrival at Villa Park would have the fans forgetting Abraham in no time.
Ambition is the name of the game this season – Smith needs to show some with a big name arrival.