One player who had a breakthrough season in the Championship this year was Nottingham Forest’s, Joe Lolley. He had a major hand in Forest’s goals in the Championship and has now been linked with a move to Aston Villa, who won the Championship play-off final and will play in the Premier League next season. The report states that the 26-year-old would be available for £10 million in the summer transfer window.
Lolley joined Nottingham Forest in the 2018 January transfer window from Huddersfield Town, who were then in the Premier League, for £1.5 million. His second season (2018-19) was a season to remember as he scored 12 goals in all competitions, 11 of which were in the Championship and also notched up a staggering 11 assists, which was the third most in the Championship for the 2018-19 season.
His great season at the club resulted in him being awarded the Nottingham Forest Player of the Season award for 2018-19.
The winger signed a new contract with his current club earlier this year, with his new deal expiring in 2023, but it seems that the Championship club will be willing to let go of the winger if Villa, or any other club, match the fee that they are demanding.
Should Villa sign him in this transfer window?
Lolley was in spectacular form in the Championship as his direct running and dribbling caused a lot of problems for the defenders. He completed 110 dribbles which were the highest in the league. The English winger has a strong left foot and can shoot from a distance while he is also a neat passer of the ball.
His most important trait is his dribbling ability and his single-minded goal of taking on defenders and beating them before rifling a shot from distance. Technically sound, the left-footer can play on the right or left side as a winger, while he has also featured heavily as a central attacking midfielder for Forest.
Villa will need a stronger squad if they want to survive in the Premier League, and a player like Lolley, who briefly played in England’s top-flight with Huddersfield Town, could be a good addition to the squad. At £10 million, Lolley could be a steal for Villa, who have mainly used Anwar El Ghazi and Albert Adomah in wide areas – with neither player showing the level of consistency which could enable Villa to head into a daunting Premier League season with a relaxed state of mind regarding their preparedness.