Aston Villa’s January signings have really not hit the ground running as Steve Bruce would have hoped.
Neil Taylor, in action for Swansea
When Neil Taylor was brought in by Aston Villa during the January transfer window, it is safe to say that there was not that much fanfare about his arrival.
Not only was his move part of the deal that saw Jordan Ayew head to Swansea – Ayew, though he divided fans, was enjoying a decent season before his departure – but there had arguably been some much more exciting incomings during the same window.
The likes of Conor Hourihane, Scott Hogan and Henri Lansbury are all established stars in the Championship, while James Bree seemingly has the potential to go a long way in the game. Meanwhile, Taylor had been a part of one of the Premier League’s poorest teams this term, so it would hardly have been a surprise had the fans not been that excited.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
However, with less than a month since the end of the window and with Villans fans desperately looking for positives in what has been a wretched season, perhaps it could be suggested that Taylor has, so far, offered the most pleasant surprise of all the new arrivals.
Hourihane, Lansbury and Hogan may have made a greater number of appearances, but none have made that great an impact so far and the latter of the trio suffered a terrible-looking injury during Monday’s defeat to Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Bree has also been sidelined for much of the time since his move while Sam Johnstone and Birkir Bjarnason – both of whom also joined in January – have been extremely disappointing.
So while it is fair to say that Taylor does not have much competition, the 28-year-old did impress against Newcastle and has provided Villa with depth in an area where they were previously weak, so perhaps it would be fair to say that, surprisingly, Taylor has probably made the early case to be considered the Villans’ best signing from January.
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