Aston Villa have reportedly set their sights on Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.
The Villans enjoyed a highly productive summer transfer window despite losing talisman and inspirational skipper Jack Grealish to champions Manchester City. They welcomed five new faces at Villa Park, with Dean Smith using the funds received from Jack Grealish’s sale to bolster several areas of his squad during the recently concluded transfer window.
However, Smith was keen to add a central midfielder as well to his ranks but failed in doing so. According to The Sun, Aston Villa will attempt to do a deal with Juventus for Weston McKennie, who has been told he can find a new home as quickly as possible.
Weston McKennie, 23, joined Juventus from Schalke on loan last summer before his deal was turned permanent in March after his impressive showings in the middle of the park. The United States international bagged five goals and two assists in 34 Serie A appearances, emerging as one of the better performers during an underwhelming 2020/21 campaign with Juventus that saw them surrender the Scudetto to Inter Milan.
The Turin giants are angry with McKennie’s actions after he breached the Covid-19 protocol rules while away with the United States national team which resulted in the 23-year-old missing Sunday’s World Cup Qualifiers against Canada.
Weston McKennie to Aston Villa—A solid midfield option for Dean Smith?
Aston Villa have had a mixed start to the new Premier League season, amassing four points out of a possible nine. The new signings are slowly settling down at the club and Dean Smith will expect them to do better after the international break.
Having scored five goals and conceded four in the opening three games of the campaign, it is pretty evident that the Villans still have plenty of issues to sort out at both ends of the pitch. In addition, there are also gaping holes in midfield that needs sorting out, with Smith yet to settle on his players in the engine room due to a combination of injury problems and Covid-19.
To that end, Aston Villa plotting a swoop for Weston McKennie in January could go a long way towards adding a lot more steel and depth to their midfield department. The USA international is a sublime talent and has the potential to be a top-class midfielder in the future.
The 23-year-old is an extremely versatile player who can operate in various midfield roles and help his team. A top passer of the ball and a tenacious tackler, Weston McKennie would undoubtedly bolster Aston Villa’s midfield options while competing with the likes of John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Marvelous Nakamba, Emi Buendia and Morgan Sanson.
After Grealish’s departure, the Villans should definitely look at the Juventus star as someone who could possibly add a lot more goals from midfield as well as help them dominate games.
With Juventus having already given McKennie the green light to leave in January, Aston Villa should fancy their chances of negotiating a suitable fee with the Serie A giants.