By support

16th Jan, 2017 | 10:03am

26-year-old towers above Aston Villa three other reported midfielders shortlisted

COMMENT by Amir Mir

Aston Villa are in desperate need of a new midfielder if they are to make a push up the Championship table.

The current crop of Mile Jedinak, Ashley Westwood, Gary Gardner and Aaron Tshibola, simply don’t have the creativity, drive and forward-thinking the Midlands club requires.

The Sun claimed on Sunday that manager Steve Bruce wants to add extra quality to his team with Adlene Guedioura, Tom Cairney, Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane all shortlisted.

Here, Football Insider analyses and rates whether the club’s four reported midfield January targets fit that bill and are the answer to Villa’s promotion hopes.

Conor Hourihane – The Barnsley playmaker is growing game by game and has been one of the top performing midfielders in the second division. Hourihane has notched up an impressive 12 assists and scored five goals in 25 games. That is the exact sort of recipe Villa require. The Irishman can play with both feet and has the great ability of dictating play and finding a forward pass. (4 out of 5)

Tom Cairney – In terms of creativity, Villa could do with his skill on the ball, in particular in the attacking third. The Fulham man has great technical ability as he has scored five goals and supplied four assists during this campaign. He would be a very good purchase but someone else would be needed beside him. (4 out of 5)

Adlène Guédioura – Despite currently plying his trade in the Premier League with Watford, this is the type of player Villa don’t need in the middle of the park. At the age of, 31, he may have an abundance of experience, but unfortunately, the Algerian lacks in the attacking department. Seven goals and eight assists in 76 Championship games is an example of that. Bruce should look elsewhere. (1 out of 5)

Henri Lansbury – The 26-year-old towers above the three other reported targets simply because of his all round ability. Lansbury can lead from the middle of the park, provide defensive cover, drive through the midfield, create and score goals. That is what the former Arsenal man has been doing for Nottingham Forest this season. He has scored six goals and provided three assists in 17 games for the struggling Midlands side. ( 5 out of 5)

In other Aston Villa transfer news, supporters react on Twitter as 29-year-old set to seal reported transfer.

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