Aston Villa ‘accelerate plan to sign striker, multiple options discussed’
Aston Villa are accelerating plans to sign a new striker ahead of the January transfer window and are assessing a number of potential options.
That is according to former Aston Villa and Man United senior scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that Unai Emery wants to sign a new forward as a priority to bolster his squad.
This comes after Football Insider revealed on 8 November that Aston Villa want to sign a striker in January, as they aim to provide some competition for Ollie Watkins.
However, they are set to face difficulties luring a top-class number nine to Villa Park given the finances involved and the lack of available options.
Morgan Rogers, Emi Buendia and Donyell Malen are currently tied as the club’s top scorers on three goals, leading to concerns about their lack of regular scorers.
Aston Villa plan to accelerate striker signing
Brown told Football Insider on 30 September that Aston Villa are concerned about Watkins’ form after a difficult start to the season for the England international.
The former scout, who has a wealth of experience in top-level player recruitment after over a decade at Man United during their most successful period, insisted that Villa will not find it easy to bolster their squad but are assessing available options.
“Aston Villa want to sign a new striker in January,” he told Football Insider.
“Emery wants somebody to challenge Watkins and score regular goals, because they’ve lacked that so far this season, and they want to do it when the window opens.
“The problem is, there aren’t many strikers available, and the ones that are cost big money.
“They’re looking at a few options to figure out who could be available for them, but it’s not easy because there aren’t many at the top level who would be available.
“We saw that in the summer, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United, Newcastle were all looking for strikers and eventually had to pay huge amounts of money to get them.
“I’m not sure Villa are in the strongest position to be able to do that, so it’s going to be difficult.”
Real Madrid sensation emerges on Aston Villa’s shortlist
As their search for a new striker continues, Football Insider revealed on 23 November that Aston Villa are interested in Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Garcia.
The 21-year-old has made 11 appearances for Los Blancos so far this season but has struggled to make a regular impact on Xabi Alonso‘s side.
As a result, a host of Premier League clubs are queuing up to land Garcia on loan and have been impressed by what they’ve seen from the Real Madrid centre-forward.
Despite growing interest from a number of Premier League sides, including Wolves and Leeds, Real Madrid have not made a decision about letting the striker leave in January.
There are doubts about Madrid’s current lack of depth in attacking areas which could see them pull the plug, but should he become available, he has no shortage of suitors.
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