Why Aston Villa should recall Jed Steer halfway through his loan period
Aston Villa have made a sedate start to the season, a campaign which is slowly getting better after the departure of Steve Bruce. The Birmingham-based club then hired Brentford manager Dean Smith to take over the reign at Villa Park and improve the situation.
Villa are always on the lookout to challenge for Premier League promotion, however, they were languishing in the wrong side of the table before the arrival of Smith. After winning three of their previous five games, the club are now slowly turning a corner towards a positive direction.
They lie 11th in the standings with 24 points, but only four points behind the playoff spots, the last of which is occupied by Derby County.
Aston Villa are short of options at centre-back, with only Axel Tuanzebe and James Chester remaining as the ideal candidates to play that position and Mile Jedinak capable of filling in when required. The defence hasn’t been the problem so far though, as the issue starts with the one who is at the last line of the team – goalkeeper.
Goalkeeping issue
Orjan Nyland signed for the club in the summer transfer window and has received the opportunity to keep the goal in the Championship. Safe to say, the 28-year-old has struggled to really settle into the way the English game is played – high intensity.
Furthermore, his nervous feeling spreads across the back line, seeping out any vote of confidence between the two.
Other than a fantastic game against Derby County last Saturday, the Norwegian has certainly not filled everyone around the club with grave confidence and assurance.
Hence, Villa should look for a proper solution come the January transfer window if they are serious about fighting for top-flight promotion this season as well. The best aid to this problem in a tight situation would be to recall Jed Steer halfway through his loan spell at Charlton Athletic.
After signing for Aston Villa in 2013, the 26-year-old wasn’t able to get regular playing minutes. Consequently, he was loaned out to several clubs in the past few seasons to get some much-needed experience and come back as a better goalkeeper.
The Englishman has done well in League One with Charlton despite conceding 14 goals in 11 games with four clean sheets.
In any manifestation, given the way Nyland has performed thus far, Villa could do well to bring Steer back. The latter might not be a permanent solution but he could be a viable aid to the issues midway through an important season.