John Townley believes that signing a centre-back is ‘a must’ at Aston Villa before the summer transfer window comes to a close.
The Midlands club suffered the ultimate blow in the first home game of the season when new signing Diego Carlos suffered a long-term injury in a 2-1 victory over Everton.
The injury would have thrown Aston Villa’s remaining transfer plans out of the window, with a centre-back now seemingly one of the priorities, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The main name linked with a move to Villa Park at the moment is Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek. According to Gregg Evans, of The Athletic, Villa are pushing for the move, with talks ongoing and at an advanced stage.
Speaking on the centre-back situation, Townley said on the Claret & Blue Podcast: “I think obviously a centre-half is a must. I think it’s difficult, because at this time in the transfer window, are we going to improve the team drastically? For me, I don’t think we are.”
TIF Thoughts on Aston Villa…
We’d have to agree with Townley, regarding the centre-back situation. Villa must reinforce the position following the injury to new signing Carlos. They signed a player who previously played European football, and they must make up for his absence with a player of similar ilk.
Right now, however, the player that looks the most likely to come in is Bednarek, but would he really improve Steven Gerrard’s side?
Gerrard does have some options in his squad for the meantime. However, without replacing him in the window, it just feels like a huge step backwards after bringing in the £27.9m Brazilian centre-back.
With a week left of the transfer window, there’s still time for a few more twists and turns when it comes to incomings at Villa Park.