Dean Saunders has criticised Aston Villa for ‘shopping at Lidl’ when it comes to new signings.
Dean Saunders
Pundit and former Aston Villa striker Dean Saunders has told talkSPORT that he thinks the club have been ‘shopping at Lidl’ in recent years, blasting their transfer business.
Villa slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United on Monday evening, meaning it’s now seven defeats in eight league games since the start of 2017.
Their one point picked up since the turn of the year came in a 2-2 home draw with Preston North End, and even then they were 2-0 up before throwing the game away in the second half.
Manager Steve Bruce enjoyed a superb start to life at Villa Park but is now under increasing pressure, with Villa sitting just six points clear of the Championship relegation zone.
Fingers have been pointed at many people, from Bruce himself to former boss Roberto Di Matteo, as well as figures from previous regimes like Randy Lerner, Remi Garde and Tim Sherwood.
Now, pundit and former striker Dean Saunders has blasted the club, telling talkSPORT that the club have suffered from a lack of investment over the last six years, highlighting that James Milner and Gareth Barry weren’t replaced following moves to Manchester City.
Saunders suggested that Villa have been shopping in the bargain basement in recent years and are now paying the price in the Championship.
“What’s happened is there’s been a lack of investment into the team over the period of about five or six years,” said Saunders. “You go back as far as James Milner and Gareth Barry leaving – they have never been replaced. Aston Villa have been shopping at Lidl when they should have been shopping at Marks and Spencer,” he added.
Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia
When discussing the Randy Lerner era, it’s certainly true that Villa were restricted financially, but current owner Tony Xia is now working to rectify that particular problem.
Since Xia arrived at Villa Park, he’s overseen a huge spending spree on players such as James Chester, Henri Lansbury, Conor Hourihane, Scott Hogan and Jonathan Kodjia among other players.
With Transfermarkt reporting that Villa have spent £63million on new signings this season, recouping £34million in sales, Xia has made a strong commitment to reversing years of under-investment – and whilst results aren’t there right now, Villa look to be heading in the right direction financially under Xia.
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