Transfer journalist Dean Jones has been discussing Aston Villa’s transfer business on the latest edition of Touchline Talk.
Steven Gerrard’s side have made a sensational start to the January transfer window with the additions of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne.
Is Bissouma your first choice midfield target?
Yes
No
Ahead of the window, the Villans were reportedly keen to bring in a defensive midfielder at some point this month, and with two arrivals already, Jones believes there will be more to come.
And it seems Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yves Bissouma is a player who is earning the interest of Gerrard’s side over a potential January swoop.
As we near the halfway point of the transfer window, Jones had the following to say on how he expects the remainder to play out at Villa Park:
“At the beginning of the window, it was like the priority was to obviously sign a defensive midfielder. So far, they’ve signed two players and neither of them were a defensive midfielder.
“But I didn’t think they were actually going to do this much business. So [it’s] looking like they’re now going to make at least three signings this month.
“The first two signings, obviously, potentially game-changers in terms of what Villa can hope for this season and beyond. And I think that Bissouma himself will have looked at that and realised that like, ‘okay, this is actually opening up to be quite exciting’.
“A few weeks back, it might have had a certain appeal, but now it’s got a different appeal. And you start to wonder how far this club are looking to go. So yeah, Brighton have got a bit of a dilemma on their hands now.”
TIF Thoughts on Villa’s window so far…
We have been seriously impressed with the two additions Villa have made so far. Coutinho is obviously a player with vast experience at the top level of European football and should arrive with a point to prove after a few disappointing seasons.
And we feel Digne is an upgrade on Matt Targett, with the Frenchman able to provide an attacking threat for Gerrard, with seven assists in each of his last two Premier League seasons.
However, if they were able to bring Bissouma in this month, it would make for a remarkable transfer window, in our books.
The Mali international has been the subject of a lot of reported interest over a potential transfer to some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
So if Villa were able to snap up the 25-year-old midfielder before the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, we think it would be a huge statement of intent from the owners at Villa Park.
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