OPINION
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will surely pull off an excellent addition to his squad by completing a permanent move for Wolves defender Kortney Hause as speculation mounts over the centre-back’s future.
According to the Football Insider, Aston Villa are set to sign Hause after he agreed to a contract worth around £30,000-a-week at Villa Park, with Smith’s side understood to be triggering an option in the defender’s loan move from Wolves last term allowing them to sign him permanently for £3 million.
Hause spent the second half of last campaign on loan at Aston Villa and impressed in his 12 league appearances – including nine successive starts – at Villa Park with Smith believed to have been convinced the defender has the potential to develop into a very good player in the Premier League.
Alongside the likes of Tammy Abraham, Axel Tuanzebe and Anwar El Ghazi, Hause was one of the loanees at Aston Villa who proved instrumental in helping the club earn promotion through the Championship play-offs.
At the age of 23, Hause will only get better and Smith is manager that has proven his ability to work with young talented players and help them display their quality on a consistent basis.
The defender is perfectly suited to the way Aston Villa play under Smith, with the 23-year-old having the calmness in possession to build out from the back, having averaged a 77.8% pass completion per match [whoscored.com] in the Championship last term.
Hause also has the ability to be influential in keeping opposition teams at bay, having won 4.7 aerial duels, 3.8 clearances and 0.7 blocks per game [whoscored.com] for Villa when called upon last season.
That suggests that Aston Villa are certainly making the right decision in activating the option in his contract to take him permanently to Villa Park this summer.
At just £3million, the defender could prove to be a bargain in a few years time, were he to go on and perform well for Smith’s side in the Premier League.
Aston Villa supporters will be hopeful that Hause proves to be an astute signing, with the club in need of extra defensive options ahead of their first season back in the Premier League.