A new formation coming for Aston Villa?

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With Joleon Lescott on board, Villa could be set to revert to a three-man backline.

Speaking to Aston Villa’s official website, manager Tim Sherwood has revealed that he is entertaining the idea of playing three at the back following Joleon Lescott’s deadline day arrival.

The £2 million signing from West Bromwich Albion was expected to battle fellow left-sided stopper Ciaran Clark for the right to start alongside team captain Micah Richards in the heart of the defence, but the pair could now be set to line up on the same backline.

However, Sunday afternoon’s clash with Midlands rivals Leicester City may have come slightly too soon to implement any changes.

Both Clark and holding midfielder Carlos Sanchez have only just returned from international duty with the Republic of Ireland and Colombia, respectively, meaning Sherwood’s first-choice starters have had little chance to practice a new formation together ahead of the trip to the King Power Stadium.

Nevertheless, with Jores Okore and newly-arrived Liverpool loanee Tiago Ilori also options at centre-back, the Villa boss admits that it is something he is very much considering going forward.

“Micah has been excellent, Ciaran has done a very good job as well, and I’m delighted to have brought Joleon into the football club,” said Sherwood. “There’s good competition for places.

“Joleon has played in three at the back so he gives us that opportunity to maybe go that route. He opens up a lot of avenues for us. He gives us the option to play three at the back.

“He did that with Micah Richards [at Manchester City]. They had Vincent Kompany in the middle of them. They have done it before and having them here gives us the opportunity to play a different style.

“It’s certainly something I will be working on.”

With Villa having two attack-minded full-backs at their disposal in Leandro Bacuna and Jordan Amavi, as well as a strong group of central midfielders in Sanchez, Idrissa Gana, Ashley Westwood, Gary Gardner and Jordan Veretout, there certainly seem to be all the right pieces in place for a possible switch to a three-man defence.

One way to go could be to emulate the 3-4-1-2 system that Louis van Gaal used to such a great effect with the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup, where Wesley Sneijder roamed behind Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben in a central playmaking role to create a formidable attacking trio.

In Villa’s case, it is easy to see Grealish taking on the Sneijder role, leaving Scott Sinclair to play off towering front man Rudy Gestede in a front two which has all the makings of a classic big man, little man partnership.

The only obvious concern is that promising duo Adama Traore and Carles Gil would have to be limited to impact roles off the bench but, while that may not go down too well with the claret and blue faithful, it might just be better for the team overall.