The latest January transfer window has come to a close and it was a very proactive period for Aston Villa, who brought new players in as well as move some of their current ones on elsewhere.
With that in mind, here’s our suggestion for what Steven Gerrard’s side could look like for the remainder of the season with their new recruits.
In goal, despite bringing in Robin Olsen on loan from AS Roma until the end of the season, it seems unlikely that he will immediately take Emi Martinez’s place in the team after the Argentine has played in all but one of Villa’s Premier League games this season.
At left-back, after immediately being put into the team by Gerrard after moving from Everton in a deal worth a reported fee of £25m, it seems likely that with Matt Targett heading to Newcastle United on loan for the remainder of the season, winter signing Lucas Digne will be Villa’s first-choice left-back from now on.
At centre-back, while Villa managed to bring in Calum Chambers from Arsenal as a free agent towards the end of the January window, we feel that Gerrard’s first-choice centre-back pairing will be Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa given their experience of playing together.
For the right-back position, despite some late links with Atletico Madrid, Matty Cash is still at Villa and likely to keep his place in the team from now until the end of the season.
Moving on to the midfield, with Marvelous Nakamba still out injured and the fact that they missed out on signing Rodrigo Bentancur before he eventually joined Tottenham Hotspur, Gerrard will have to make do with the options he has at his disposal at the moment, making a midfield trio of John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey a viable one for the Villa boss for the time being.
Then for their attacking positions, having brought in former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona on loan, Gerrard has been keen on giving him minutes in his side by bringing him on for his debut in Villa’s 2-2 draw against Manchester United where he score their vital equalising goal, followed by starting him in their 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on the left-wing.
Finally, having scored seven goals and provided four assists between them in the league so far this season, we think Gerrard will stick with Ollie Watkins through the middle. That’s instead of the “unbelievable” Danny Ings, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £100k-per-week according to Salary Sport, and Emi Buendia on the right.
In other news: Preece claims AVFC now “looking to” secure £11.7m-rated gem, he’s likened to Busquets – opinion
