This summer, we have seen Aston Villa spend more money on transfers than Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal combined, which is an astonishing statistic for the newly promoted team. However, the club have allowed 12 players to leave in the offseason.
There are still three players that would benefit from a move away from Aston Villa this transfer window. Below we take an in-depth look at those players and justify why they need the move.
Lovre Kalinić
The first man on our list is also a player who is fairly new to Villa Park still. Lovre Kalinić joined Aston Villa only a mere six months ago from K.A.A Gent, who play in the Belgian Pro League. Having made 68 appearances from the Belgian powerhouse over three campaigns he caught the attention, again for a second time, of Aston Villa’s recruiting team.
Kalinić joined the club for £7 million, and slotted right into the starting line-up for the injured Ørjan Nyland and departing Andrè Moreira (who returned to his parent club). However, after just seven appearances, the national Croatian ‘keeper was pushed aside for Jed Steer who had impressed Dean Smith whilst on loan at Charlton Athletic.
Steer then managed to get a good run of games, making 16 appearances in Aston Villa’s promotion-winning run. He also became a hero at the club with back-to-back saves in the semi-final shootout against rivals West Bromwich Albion.
With promotion and the constant links to expensive A-grade keepers, Kalinić would hence be wise to ask for a move away from the Midlands club. Even if it’s only on a season loan or permanently, this might grant him a better chance of game time elsewhere, with Nantes in Ligue 1 being mooted.
Kalinić needs games to retain his Croatian number one Guernsey. With the 2020 European championships only around the corner, this number one ‘keeper would be wise to look elsewhere otherwise he will be sitting on the pine for club and country.
Aaron Tshibola
At the time of transfer, this was an interesting even bizarre piece of business. Three years on and this former Reading boy has struggled to cut it here at Villa Park, and desperately needs a move away.
Signed by Roberto Di Matteo for £5 million, Tshibola has made a total of eight appearances in his time at the club and coming into the back end of his contract the club would benefit from getting any money back. Without sounding too harsh, he has played well for Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premier League (SPL), being useful and pivotal in their Europa League push for this upcoming season.
The East Aryshire club would love to have Tshibola back, rating him highly amongst their squad and Aaron could fancy a move there having made 37 appearances for them over 18 months. His time north of the border also rewarded him with his international debut with Dominican Republic of Congo which was well-deserved.
The problem with Kilmarnock is they want another loan and Aston Villa will only sanction a sale. He isn’t Premier League quality and a move to the Championship, League One or back to the SPL would be ideal for him. Tshibola will only fetch a fee that is dramatically less than what Villa paid for him all those years back but he needs a fresh beginning.
Birkir Bjarnason
Writing this one hurts me because I was so excited personally for his arrival and I genuinely like him as a player and person. I, however, do feel he is going to struggle for game time this campaign. Scoring five times over 47 outings for the club isn’t terrible statistics for a holding midfielder.
What Smith sees in him is the experience that could be important in the best league in the world. Bjarnason has played for FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League as well as having opportunities in Serie A and Belgian Pro League. What he does hold is important international experience, featuring over 75 times for Iceland including being part of their historic run at the European Championships in 2016.
Bjarnason will also surely feature for his country next year at the championships. By that stage, he will be 32 years old and coming to the end of his contract – which has one season to run on it. My opinion is that he would be the one pushing for a move, not the club.
The Icelandic international has to compete with McGinn, Hourihane, Grealish, Lansbury, Green, Jota, El Ghazi and potentially another man on this list in Aaron Tshibola for a place in the starting line-up.
Bjarnason is way below the pecking order, and with the club looking at further additions to this area, perhaps he is looking at his prospects and noticing them becoming slimmer. He is an ambitious player by all accounts around the club and maybe he will favour a move abroad to another top league where is a guaranteed starter.
Honourable player mentions to this list that could have been included are Scott Hogan, Keinan Davis, Henri Lansbury and James Bree. These players would be seeking opportunities with Davis and Bree more suited to loan deals and Hogan with Lansbury looking at permanent transfers. Scott Hogan would appreciate another chance at the Blades in the Premier League under the watchful eye of Chris Wilder.
Leave your comments below on which players you think should move away from the Midlands club.
Spending more than Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal…disengenious statement due to Chelsea’s transfer ban….