Villa will be under pressure from the moment next season kicks off. Make no mistake; this is a massive club and one that really should be playing Premier League football.
As a former Birmingham City manager in particular, Steve Bruce won’t be given a lot of time (at least not by the fans) to get it right and so a good start is essential. Bruce believes that Villa, rather than Newcastle for example, were the ‘big scalp’ for Championship sides last season and you could argue that he is in somewhat of a dreamland.
His club though do remain capable of attracting some good players and here we look at three from this division who could seriously improve Villa’s chances of going up:
Only Danny Batth, and by the tiniest of margins, managed more clearances per game than Roberts last season and the centre-back has developed into a tip-top player in this division.
Time will tell, but I would say he would be even better with slightly less pressure on him and so the fact that Villa will be a short price to finish above Barnsley next season would mean we would see an even better defender emerge in Roberts if he were to move to Villa Park.
City’s defender, born of course in Birmingham, had a cracking season too and is another who could bring some much needed quality into Villa’s back line. Flint is a central defender who incredibly scored 14 league goals in League One a few seasons ago and continues to be dangerous at this level. 5 more goals were added by the big man during this campaign, meaning he brings a realistic goal threat to the team as well as great defensive attributes.
The West London club’s attacking midfielder doesn’t get many headlines around the country, but has obvious quality. Playing mostly on the right side last season for the Bees, Jota managed 12 goals in 19 starts which is a brilliant record. He added 5 assists to that tally too, meaning he was involved in a goal every 100 minutes in the Championship.
3.4 shots per game, 1.5 key passes and 1.3 crosses show that he is all action and produces the goods every time. Villa are not in the sort of position anymore to turn down quality like this and so if the player is offered to them at the right price, they should snatch him.
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