Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has already welcomed one new signing to the Championship powerhouses, Croatian goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic.
Aston Villa fans had many criticisms of Steve Bruce during his rather underwhelming two year spell in charge.
And, alongside his perceived direct approach and inability to get the best out of a talented squad, it seemed that many were unhappy about Bruce bringing in a whole host of short-term loan signings rather than develop the players he already at his disposal.
During the former Birmingham gaffer’s reign, Villa signed nine players on short-term deals, including Tammy Abraham, Lewis Grabban, Yannick Bolasie and Robert Snodgrass.
But, speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Bruce’s replacement Dean Smith has indicated that he is keen to adapt Aston Villa’s approach in the transfer market.
“We’ve got good loan players here at the moment but I would prefer to develop our own players rather than bringing in loans and improving them for other clubs,” said Smith, who welcomed the £7 million Croatian goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic to the Second City on Friday.
“That’s just my opinion. We have targets in mind and they will be presented to the powers-that-be.”
In fairness to Bruce, many of his loan signings proved to be a big success. Grabban very nearly fired Villa to promotion last season, Johnstone was arguably the Championship’s best goalkeeper while Snodgrass produced the joint-highest number of assists in the 2017/18 league season.
Smith, however, is renowned for his willingness to give youth a chance so fans can expect to see more from the likes of Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Mitch Clark and Callum O’Hare in the near future.
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