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Villa’s Best XI of Transfer Targets Based on Rumours this Term

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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