This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Aston Villa’s January transfer intentions have been revealed by The Athletic’s Gregg Evans this week as he claims the club have been scouting out the talents in La Liga.
The Villa reporter appeared on The Villa View’s podcast when he told all about Dean Smith and Jesus Garcia Pitarch’s upcoming plans.
What’s he said?
A lot has been reported ahead of the January transfer window with Football Insider first stating that Villa had put £20m aside to rectify one of their summer mistakes.
That error being their failed attempt to add at least one more forward option before the window slammed shut a few months ago – they were linked with moves to Neal Maupay and Jean-Kevin Augustin.
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Currently, Smith only has three strikers at the club, and if other reports are accurate, it could go down to two as they will look to move Jonathan Kodjia on in January.
The 48-year-old is also operating with only three wingers for two places, which has led to Jack Grealish playing further forward in recent weeks, but that’s a move that has paid dividends with two goals in his last three appearances.
Speaking on The Villa View’s podcast this week, Evans said:
“Suso knows the market in France and Spain much better than Dean [Smith] will, for example.
“There are a couple of targets they are looking at. Suso will put them into Dean [Smith], and if Dean doesn’t like them, then he’ll say and they’ll have a conversation between them.
“I know that Villa have been looking heavily at Villarreal games as well, [Karl Toko] Ekambi, might be one to keep an eye on.
“I don’t know if he will be the one they are directly looking at, but from a contact of mine they’ve said Villa have been looking at Villarreal.”
Plausible links
Although Evans’ comments are merely speculation, we can still gauge how likely they are to come to fruition, and given previous ties and relationships, this does seem plausible.
The first thing to notice is that the club are looking to La Liga to strengthen their side, which can only be a good thing given it is considered one of the few elite leagues in the world.
Aston Villa’s summer signings’ performances so far this season are rated in the video below…
Whether Karl Toko Ekambi is a genuine target remains to be seen, but he did once play for Angers SCO, who Villa very nearly recruited Baptiste Santamaria from this summer before pursuing other avenues, per RMC via GFFN.
This would reinforce Evans’ statement that Pitarch knows the French and Spanish leagues, meaning Ekambi could well be a plausible target.
Still, as of right now, there is nothing concrete linking the club to the 27-year-old Cameroon international other than the fact they are scouting his domestic club.