Arsenal’s forgotten man is on his way out this January and Aston Villa may have been handed a major boost in their hopes of landing him.
After a January in which top targets have so far proved beyond their reach, this could be the breakthrough Aston Villa are crying out for. The Daily Mirror reports that Carl Jenkinson’s move to Crystal Palace has fallen through after the Eagles failed to agree terms.
Sam Allardyce will be understandably furious. After all, he knows Jenkinson well from an impressive campaign at West Ham in 2014/15. However, his loss could be Steve Bruce’s gain.
The Mirror adds that Jenkinson is desperate for regular first-team football after falling to fourth choice in Arsenal’s list of right-backs, behind even converted centre-half Gabriel Paulista, while Aston Villa could provide him with an ideal opportunity to kick-start his career away from the microscope of the Premier League.
The Birmingham Mail reported earlier in January that Bruce was determined to rescue the once-capped England international from his Emirates nightmare and, with Palace now out of the picture, Villa could do worse than to reignite their interest.
Despite the ambitious promises made by owner Tony Xia, Sam Johnstone is Villa’s only incoming player this month, but the signing of Jenkinson could sate the fans’ desires for crucial improvements to the squad.
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