OPINION
Nottingham Forest reportedly want £15million in order to part company with Joe Lolley and surely Aston Villa should go all out to sign him at that price.
Sky Sports previously reported that the Villans were planning to move for the 26-year-old right-sided winger with Smith keen to strengthen his side ahead of their first season back in the Premier League.
The broadcaster added that Forest were keen to keep Lolley and as a result it was thought that he would cost upwards of £10million.
A report in The Sun’s print edition (Sunday June 2nd, page 59) has clarified Lolley’s summer price tag further and claimed Forest want £15million for the attacker, which is over twice what the Villans offered for him in January.
Also unlike Sky Sports, The Sun claim that Smith is yet to decide whether to pursue Lolley’s services once again, but perhaps he only has doubts after the player’s exact cost was revealed.
However Smith and Villa surely has an easy decision to make regarding Lolley as clearly the Villans should cough up the necessary dough for him, as he is worth it.
Lolley scored 12 goals and assisted 13 in 51 outings for Forest in his 2018/19 campaign and as Sky Sports claimed getting a right-winger in the summer market is a priority for the Villans.
This is especially the case after the Villans confirmed on their website they were letting their current right winger, Albert Adomah, go once his contract expires in June.
So who is better than Lolley? Not only is the 26-year-old coming off the back of a fantastic season but as WhoScored states the winger’s strengths are his dribbling ability and his knack for being a danger from set-pieces.
That’s the type of winger who could give the Villans something to cheer about in the Premier League as they will want a player capable of running at defences, which Lolley is, and they’ll need someone who is able to score from dead-ball situation in case they’re unable to dominate possession in the top-flight due to it being a step up.
While £15million is a notable amount for the Villans to spend and a step up from what they previously wanted to pay, based on Lolley’s talents, surely Smith has to tell the club to chase down his signature.