Aston Villa will seal promotion if they sell duo in January and buy available goal machine
COMMENT by Amir Mir
Aston Villa have strong ambitions of gaining promotion this season, despite being six points adrift of the final play-off spot.
When the January transfer window opens next month it will be a decisive time for Villa manager Steve Bruce and his hopes of closing the gap on the top six.
The promotion expert needs to be ruthless and sell senior first team duo, Rudy Gestede and Ross McCormack.
As a result of their sales, he must purchase the out-of-favour Middlesbrough striker Jordan Rhodes, who has a healthy Championship goalscoring record, despite his struggles in the Premier League.
Oldham-born Rhodes has started one out of his four top-flight games this term under Aitor Karanka.
The 13-cap Scotland striker has scored an impressive 91 goals in 189 Championship games, mainly for Blackburn Rovers and Huddersfield Town.
There are many reports within the media linking him with a move away from the Riverside and his presence in January would most certainly add a much needed freshness at Villa Park.
Villa’s £12 million summer signing Ross McCormack has scored just two goals in 13 Championship games as he has found it difficult to adapt to life in the Midlands.
Additionally his teammate Rudy Gestede, who has scored four goals this season, must be sold to balance and free up space for Bruce to purchase another midfielder in the playing squad.
This move will help Bruce, especially considering their star man Jonathan Kodjia, who has scored seven goals this season, will be at the Africa Cup of Nations in January.
Benin forward Gestede is a target-man and his style is currently not suiting Villa, while McCormack’s movement in the final third is non-existent.
Rhodes may not be blessed with pace, but the 26-year-old is able to cause havoc in and around the penalty area because of his movement. At Championship level, he is a bona fide goal machine.
This will help Bruce and Villa in their promotion push as they aim to seal a place in the top six come the end of the 2016/17 campaign.
In other Aston Villa news, Steve Bruce must sell this hopeless first teamer after another shocking display.