Aston Villa have less than 24 hours to conclude deals before the transfer window slams shut.
This could be an interesting deadline day for Aston Villa, both from an ingoing and outgoing perspective as Dean Smith aims to clean up his squad.
It remains to be seen whether any new faces will walk through the doors of Bodymoor Heath before the cut-off point, but one thing is for sure, there are certain Villa players that need to leave for regular game time.
For some, they have been great servants and have just fallen down the pecking order, but others simply haven’t got going ever since they stepped onto the Villa Park pitch.
Nonetheless, here are three Villa players that need to leave the club on deadline day:
Jota – The Spanish playmaker worked with Dean Smith and coach Richard O’Kelly during their time at Brentford. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise when he romped up at Villa Park in the summer. But since his arrival, he has hardly got going and the signs are there for him to part ways with the club.
Jota has only started four Premier League matches and hasn’t played a single minute for Villa in the league since December [transfermarkt]. Nonetheless, it does seem as though Jota could leave because Fulham are seemingly keen on his services, as reported by The Mail.
Lansbury – When Villa, and then-boss Steve Bruce, signed Henri Lansbury from Nottingham Forest for £3m [BBC Sport] in January 2017, a lot was expected of the midfielder. But injuries have hit his Villa career hard.
Despite being at the club for three years, Lansbury has only played 49 matches in all competitions, scoring two goals and supplying eight assists [transfermarkt]. And given the number of Villa midfielders stacking up in B6, it doesn’t seem as though his game time will increase.
Lansbury is now behind the likes of Marvelous Nakamba, Douglas Luiz, Conor Hourihane, Danny Drinkwater, and the currently injured, John McGinn in the pecking order. So, for the best of his long-term career, he needs minutes under his belt and the Championship can serve him with that.
Chester – The Wales international has been an outstanding servant for Villa since his arrival in 2016. When he first arrived, the Midlands outfit had just been relegated and needed picking up. Whilst, the picking up process was slow, Chester played his part in a massive way over the years.
However, he is yet to play in the Premier League for Smith, and the likes of Tyrone Mings, Kortney Hause and Ezri Konsa are ahead of him. Therefore, just like Lansbury, a drop down to the second-tier, where he is experienced and proven, is the best move he will make because it’ll help him get himself back to his best.
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