Aston Villa are looking to bring in a sporting director ahead of January.
Aston Villa may be sticking by manager Steve Bruce – for now at least – but they are planning major changes further behind the scenes.
Villa haven’t made the best of starts to the new season, winning just three times in the Championship and just once in the last seven as the pressure mounts on Bruce.
With new owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens looking to take the club forward, Bruce’s role is under intense scrutiny, and they have already made major changes.
Villa have sacked six members of their scouting and recruitment department, including European scout Ian Atkins and loan manager Tommy Mooney, with a sporting director now wanted.
Leicester City’s Eduardo Macia is one name linked, but Villa should look to one man out of work right now, in former Everton man Steve Walsh, who left Goodison Park at the end of last season.
Walsh may have been criticised for spending heavily on the likes of Ashley Williams, Morgan Schneiderlin and Davy Klaassen, though other parts of his record are hugely impressive.
Walsh brought Jordan Pickford to Everton with great success, whilst his record at Leicester City saw him bring in Riyad Mahrez, Ngolo Kante and Jamie Vardy, with Vardy and Mahrez arriving in the Championship, meaning he may be better suited to that level of recruitment rather than for a team pushing for the Premier League’s top six.
A huge fan of now-Villa winger Yannick Bolasie having signed him for Palace, Walsh is an experienced talent spotter who was largely credited with helping Leicester win the Premier League in 2016, and whilst his Everton woes have seen his reputation take a nosedive, he should be a name on Villa’s radar given his record in the Championship.
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