Dean Smith’s Aston Villa are in a Premier League relegation battle, but would 34-year-old Hertha Berlin player Salomon Kalou have really saved them?
Finding a top class attacker in January is easier said than done. Just ask Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and, of course, Aston Villa.
With the January transfer window slamming shut on Friday, Villa’s hopes of Premier League survival rest on the shoulders of two strikers who were playing in Belgium’s top flight before sealing big-money moves to the Midland giants.
Mbwana Samatta might have marked his debut with a trademark headed finish during Saturday’s defeat to Bournemouth but Wesley Moraes started brightly too before the goals dried up. Samatta is a risk; madness or a masterstroke.
It is no secret that Villa tried and failed to sign the likes of Olivier Giroud, Michy Batshuayi and Krzysztof Piatek, talented centre-forwards proven in a top European division, and we can now add another, rather unexpected name to this list; that of 34-year-old Salomon Kalou.
“England would have appealed to me very much,” the Hertha Berlin veteran has told the Berliner Kurier, suggesting that his lack of a European passport was the reason why a potential return to Britain failed to materialise.
“I got a call from my good friend John Terry, who is now coaching Aston Villa. At that time he was our captain at Chelsea and a real leader. I would have loved to play under him.”
“We tried until the end if there was a possibility. But I’m not a European, I don’t play in the national team anymore. That was the problem.”
A few years ago, a deal to bring the former Chelsea favourite to Villa Park would have gone down well with the claret and blue faithful. But, with top-flight status on the line, signing a 34-year-old with just one league start to his name all season was never likely to get the blood pumping.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
