EPL – How Aston Villa fared in the January transfer window

EPL – How Aston Villa fared in the January transfer window

0
SHARE

Our series of Premier League January transfer wrap-ups continues with a look at the business done by basement-dwellers Aston Villa.

Who arrived?

With the Villans rooted to the bottom of the Premier League it was always going to be difficult for the Birmingham side to bring in top talent, or any talent at all. While they have been linked with the likes of Loic Remy, Nemanja Vidic and Matthieu Debuchy, no transfers, for these players or any others, have eventuated.

Remy’s possible move to Villa was ruled out by Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink, midway through January. The 29-year-old would have brought goals to the Villa frontline, something Remi Garde’s team has been missing.

Vidic, infamous among fans for escaping a sending-off in the 2010 League Cup Final, decided to retire this month, ruling him out of a move to the Midlands. Why the Villa would need another aging centre-back is a mystery, which is probably why a move never materialised.

WIN: A £50 voucher from Classic Football Shirts up for grabs!

Debuchy secured a loan move to Bordeaux, and he too was off the menu.

Another target in Andros Townsend eventually moved to Newcastle United, but a move to Villa would again have been puzzling due to the fact Garde does not usually play with wingers, unless he does that because his current options are rubbish.

Goalkeepers Steve Mandana of Marseille and Lovre Kalinic of Hajduk Split, both offer an upgrade to current No.1 Mark Bunn and would step in for Brad Guzan, who is surely on his way out when a suitable replacement is found. Kalinic looked the most likely, but work permit issues meant the deal was off the cards.

At the end of the window, the number of players Villa had secured was zero.


POPULAR ARTICLES

EPL – January transfer window roundup [Part 2]

EPL – How Manchester City fared in the January transfer window

EPL – How West Ham United fared in the January transfer window


Who departed?

Three players have left Villa Park permanently this window. Firstly is 30-year-old Swiss centre-back Philippe Senderos, who only managed seven appearances for the claret and blue. Senderos and the Club decided to mutually cancel his contract, leaving him free to join Raiffeisen Super League side Grasshoppers for the remainder of the season.

Joe Cole joined Coventry City on a permanent contract after making seven appearances and scoring once for the League One side. Similar to Senderos, the Villans cut their losses and allowed the former England international to leave on a free transfer.

Tiago Llori, the third, was sent back to Liverpool not having played a single time during his loan spell for Villa.

The Villans also sent a few players back out on loan, with Joe Bennet going to Sheffield Wednesday, Gary Gardner rejoining Nottingham Forest, Jed Steer going to Huddersfield Town, Jose Angel Crespo returning to his native Spain to join Rayo Vallecano, and Callum Robinson rejoining Preston North End.

Who can help the team?

It is unsurprising that Villa have not made any big signings in the transfer window, because realistically there is not a signing that could improve the team drastically enough. They are bottom, 10 points behind Norwich City and look like they are well on their way to the Championship next season.

Overall Rating

Fans speculated that the club may start preparing for life in the second division, which may be true with Gardner, Bennett, Robinson, and Steer all joining Championship clubs on loan. Villa have also started stripping surplus weight though, with Senderos and Cole both allowed to leave.

Overall it is hard to rate Villa’s transfer window, they are in a tough position, they have no buying power to attract talent to the Club, and possibly at the same time do not want to be seen to be preparing for life in the Championship, which cannot be good for ticket sales.

What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90and like us on Facebook.