Why Aston Villa Fans Shouldn’t Expect Many More Signings This Transfer Window
It has been a busy few days at Aston Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground, with three players arriving at the club in just two days.
The signings of Ahmed Elmohamady, Glenn Whelan and Chris Samba mean Villa have added five players to their squad this summer, with John Terry and Sam Johnstone joining earlier in July.
However, it appears likely that the recent influx of players at Villa Park will not continue, and in fact, judging by manager Steve Bruce’s comments earlier this year, the club could well have made their last purchase of the summer.
In an interview with Aston Villa’s official website in March, the claret and blue’s boss said, “There won’t be huge turnover this summer. I don’t think the club can expect to do that again. We’ve seen huge turnovers in the last couple of years.
Bruce went on to claim in the interview that he was only likely to sign, “One or two, rather than eight or 10.”
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Villa have endured a nightmare few years in the transfer market, which has seen them purchase a number of average players in the past two years. Consequently, this has resulted in a huge turnover of players at the club.
In fact, in the previous two transfer windows Villa have signed an incredible 16 players, on top of the 12 imports made by Tim Sherwood two years ago.
Unsurprisingly, the concoction of subpar signings and the ludicrously rapid change-over in playing staff, has resulted in a poor showing on the field, as Villa were relegated in 2015/16 and finished 13th last season.
However, it appears Bruce is learning from the club’s previous mistakes and his transfer policy of ‘less is more’ could well yield more promising outcomes.
Villa had one of the strongest squads in the Championship last season, and the five additions this summer have only strengthened the team’s more venerable areas.
Players such as Terry, Whelan and Elmohamady have proven their worth in the Premier League, along with the likes of current Villa players Alan Hutton, James Chester, Neil Taylor and Mile Jedinak.
The Villa squad also contains players, such as Ritchie De Laet, Henri Lansbury and Albert Adomah, who have previously gained promotion from the Championship.
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And for all Bruce’s experiences to call up, he has a nice blend of youngster including James Bree, Jack Grealish and Andre Green at his disposal.
Finally, the likes of Conor Hourihane, Scott Hogan and Jonathan Kodjia, add a that necessary bit of quality to team.
Therefore, Villa do not need make any more significant signings this summer and perhaps, Bruce’s only reason to sign players, could result from any potential departures at the club.
Tommy Elphick and Jordan Amavi may leave Villa Park in the coming weeks, meaning the Midland’s outfit would be slightly short of cover in centre-back and left-back areas.
Assuming Villa do not see a huge overhaul in players between now and the end of the transfer window, the club look in a strong position to gain promotion on the second time of asking.
However, as history has shown, ‘the more the merrier’ policy has not been a success in the past, and more imports to the Midlands could derail any real chances Villa have of an imminent return to the Premier League.
