With Villa having failed miserably this term, just in general, the club sit in 13th in the Premier League and look certain to end the season in the bottom half of the table. Despite this, manager Gerard Houllier has been linked to some of the best targets the club has been touted to sign in years and has even brought in some real gems a la Darren Bent. With this in mind I thought I would take a look at the best of them (in my opinion) and compile a starting XI of targets for next season, some of which are highly ambitious/unlikely! I’ll stress before I get comments telling me I’m a knob and I should stop dreaming that I’m fully aware that Villa are not likely to get many of these stars come the summer, if any. Frankly the news is just slow today so I’m coming up with ideas to keep you entertained. Hopefully!
GK – Ali Al-Habsi – Bolton Wanderers (on loan: Wigan Athletic)
Age: 29
Linked (Date & Fee): December 17 / £5m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=3790
Appearances: 35 Conceded: 50 (1.43 per game) Clean Sheets: 8
Likelihood: 5/10 – could be first choice at Bolton
RB – Kyle Walker – Tottenham Hotspur (on loan: Aston Villa)
Age: 20
Linked (Date & Fee): March 24 / Loan/£10m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=4764
Appearances: 35 Conceded: 33 (18 at Villa) Goals: 2 Assists: 6 (2 at Villa) Tackles Per Game: 2.8
Likelihood: 6/10 – possibly on a loan but not permanent
CB – Christopher Samba – Blackburn Rovers
Age: 27
Linked (Date & Fee): January 4 / £8m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=3922
Appearances: 33 Conceded: 50 (1.51 per game) Clean Sheets: 8 Goals: 4 Tackles Per Game: 1.4 Ariel Success: 69%
Likelihood: 3/10 – signed a new deal since
CB – Gary Cahill – Bolton Wanderers
Age: 25
Linked (Date & Fee): March 15 / £20m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=4701
Appearances: 38 Conceded: 52 (1.37 per game) Clean Sheets: 8 Goals: 3 Tackles Per Game: 1.9 Ariel Success: 62%
Likelihood: 2/10 – £20m! Will go to Arsenal I’d imagine
LB – Emilio Izaguirre – Celtic
Age: 24
Linked (Date & Fee): April 15 / £8m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=4951
Appearances: 38 Conceded: 26 (0.68 per game) Goals: 1 Assists: 8
Likelihood: 6/10 – certain to sign a left-back but probably too much competition
CM – Yann M’Vila – Rennes
Age: 20
Linked (Date & Fee): May 2 / Unknown – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=5105
Appearances: 36 Goals: 3 Assists: 1 Pass Success Rate: 82% Tackles Per Game: 3.1
Likelihood: 4/10 – will probably leave Rennes but is better than Villa in all honesty
CM – Charlie Adam – Blackpool
Age: 25
Linked (Date & Fee): January 10 / £2.5m-4m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=4023
Appearances: 33 Goals: 10 Assists: 7 Pass Success Rate: 72% Key Passes Per Game: 2.09
Likelihood: 5/10 – Blackpool look likely to go down so will leave, doubt Spurs/Liverpool will be as interested
AM – Nuri Sahin – Borussia Dortmund
Age: 22
Linked (Date & Fee): April 28 / £5m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=5074
Appearances: 40 Goals: 8 Assists: 14 Pass Success Rate: 76% Key Passes Per Game: 3.47
Likelihood: 1/10 – all set to join Real Madrid for £8m
LS – Keisuke Honda – CSKA Moscow
Age: 24
Linked (Date & Fee): January 20 / Unknown – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=4154
Appearances*: 53 Goals: 13 (8 for VVV-Venlo) Assists: 13 (8 for VVV-Venlo)
Likelihood: 5/10 – only been at CSKA for 1 year
RS – Gervinho – Lille OSC
Age: 23
Linked (Date & Fee): October 14 / £8m-10m – http://astonvillablog.com/?p=3400
Appearances: 45 Goals: 17 Assists: 10 Pass Success Rate: 80% Dribbles Per Game: 2.2
Likelihood: 6/1o – Villa tabled a £10m in January with Lille wanting £15m, real interest
CF – Karim Benzema – Real Madrid
Age: 23
Linked (Date & Fee): November 13 / Loan
Appearances: 44 Goals: 23 Assists: 8 Shots Per Game: 2.1
Likelihood: 2/10 – gets on well with Houllier and is out of favour at Madrid, too good
So there you have it. A few things to point out. The link date is from the first time I reported a link to the player and the price relates to the link at the time, not now. The hyperlink shows said link. The appearances are based on all club competitions, not country, and in the case of Keisuke Honda relates to last seasons stats due to the different schedule in the Russian League. More specific tackling, passing and shooting stats are only based on league appearances, couldn’t find for all competitions sorry. Most importantly, these links were all rumours from press sources, legitimacy of links and fees etc. is unknown. Again, I’m well aware that the chances that we would sign 1, let alone all of these players are slim, hence the likelihood ratings, based on my own opinions. It was just a bit of fun so please don’t take it too seriously! UTV!
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