Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce is reportedly eyeing a move for Australia defender Trent Sainsbury.
Villa are continuing to prepare for their third consecutive season in the Championship, and The Sun on Sunday alludes to the fact that Steve Bruce needs to uncover some bargain deals due to the financial implications of being denied promotion in last season’s play-off final.
Luckily, it appears that the Villans have found a potential target who could prove affordable. The Sun on Sunday (24/06; page 60) reports that Bruce has his eye on Sainsbury, and the report suggests that he fits into their budget.
It is unclear whether Villa would be targeting a permanent deal or a loan, but the 26-year-old has spent some of the last two years out on loan, with Inter Milan and Grasshoppers both taking him from Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning. Transfermarkt suggests that his contract in China expires in December.
He barely featured during his time at San Siro, but he has been excellent in the two World Cup games that Australia have played so far, with a narrow defeat to France and draw with Denmark leaving them with a slim chance of progressing to the knockout phase of the competition.
It would certainly be a boost for Villa if they managed to sign the defender as their options at the back certainly need bolstering during this window. John Terry and Chris Samba have moved on, so landing an international centre-back would certainly help ease a lot of anxiety amongst the Villa fans worried about the various reports flying around regarding the potential player sales that they may have to sanction this summer.
But if Sainsbury can help the Socceroos reach the knockout stages on Tuesday, then perhaps it would be fair to suggest that Villa’s task of trying to sign him may become much tougher.
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