Aston Villa journalist Ashley Preece has been sharing his thoughts on the possibility of the Birmingham club making a loan move for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli in the upcoming January transfer window.
This comes after Preece recently made an appearance on a Q&A episode of the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue Podcast where he answered a variety of questions related to Dean Smith’s side.
During the episode, Preece was asked if there is any possibility of Villa trying to sign Alli on loan in January, to which he gave this response.
He said: “I can’t see that happening with Barkley at the club now. Villa have got their marquee signing to play in that [number] 10 role and Barkley is going to be the man from here now until May and perhaps conversations will happen in January whether to sign Barkley or not.
“They’ll be looking at a deal to do there. He’s still only 26 Barkley, so there won’t be a conversation about Dele Alli at all.”
The 24-year-old, who is currently valued at £46.8 million, signed for Spurs back in 2015 from MK Dons for a fee of £5.97 million.
Since then, the midfielder has gone on to make 229 appearances for the north London club in which he has managed to score 63 goals and provide 56 assists along the way (per Transfermarkt).
Would you take Dele Alli on loan in January?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Ashley Preece’s comments on a potential Villa loan move for Alli…
Given how Alli has only made two Premier League appearances so far this season and that there have been previous reports linking the Englishman with a move away from Tottenham in January, it comes as no surprise that this question about a potential loan move to Villa has been asked.
However, it’s clear from what Preece had to say that Villa are not interested in bringing in Alli at this moment in time and are more likely to be focused on signing Ross Barkley on a permanent deal when his current loan deal at the club runs out at the end of the season.
Taking into account how Barkley has managed to score two goals and provide one assist in the six Premier League games he’s played for Villa so far this season, it’s understandable, in our view, why they’d be more concerned with signing him permanently than signing Alli on loan.