Aston Villa were comfortably beaten by Brentford, despite fielding their new signings from FC Basel and Barnsley respectively.
On paper at least, Aston Villa’s January business is up there with the best in England.
Eight new faces arrived at Villa Park throughout the month, as Steve Bruce strengthened in several key areas.
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Villa’s midfield was arguably their Achilles heel during the season’s early stage, and it was no real surprise to see Bruce add three new faces in that department.
One of those, former Nottingham Forest captain Henri Lansbury, made his debut for the Villans in the Saturday-before-last’s draw against Preston North End, but for fellow newbies Birkir Bjarnason and Conor Hourihane – signed from FC Basel and Barnsley respectively – Tuesday’s trip to Brentford was their first in claret and blue.
Former Barnsley captain Hourihane was one of two full debutants to feature on Tuesday
And though the game itself did not go to plan, with one goal for Nico Yennaris a double from Lasse Vibe – standing-in for the Villa-bound Scott Hogan – giving the hosts a comfortable 3-0 victory, how did Bjarnason and Hourihane fare individually?
This was the Villa fans’ assessment on Twitter:
Bjarnason in action for Basel
Are Aston Villa fans right to criticise Bjarnason and Hourihane this early?
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