Premier League strugglers Aston Villa are reportedly looking to sign £9m flop from top flight rivals Crystal Palace.
If Aston Villa survive their first season back in the Premier League, and that is far from guaranteed as things stand, then they cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of last summer’s transfer window.
With Dean Smith’s side hovering perilously above the drop zone, the lack of a proven Premier League goalscorers could still cost them dear. Wesley Moraes, for all his best efforts, simply didn’t cut the mustard and it remains to be seen whether Mbwana Samatta can succeed where the Brazilian failed and transfer his goalscoring ways in Belgium to the English game.
But reports suggesting that Aston Villa are already lining up the off-season addition of a striker who failed to score a single goal in 16 Premier League games for Crystal Palace has certainly raised eyebrows aplenty. Understandably so.
Alexander Sorloth always looked like a panic buy for Crystal Palace, joining for a hefty £9 million on deadline day two years ago, and his inability to make any sort of an impact at Selhurst Park hardly silenced the doubters.
Since moving on loan to Trabzonspor in Turkey, however, the Norway international has been a man reborn with 21 goals in all competitions. And, according to Turkish Football, Aston Villa could soon offer him a second chance in the Premier League, overlooking his struggles at Palace.
Now, as influential centre-back Tyrone Mings will attest, flopping at one top-flight club does not mean you cannot thrive at another. For now, however, the prospect of Sorloth leading the line in claret and blue is not filling anyone at Villa Park with much excitement for the future.
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