A lack of goals, underperforming star men and Premier League scouts flocking to Villa Park – what could go wrong?
One win from five games is hardly the way Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce wanted to start the season.
Big names don’t guarantee big wins
Villa spent around £70 million last summer, more than Real Madrid, to fund an immediate return to the Premier League. A 13th placed finish, however, tells you everything you need to know about how well that plan worked.
Villa may have one of the league’s strongest squads on reputation alone but big-money signings Ross McCormack, Henri Lansbury, Scott Hogan and Tommy Elphick failed to justify their hefty price tags while Huddersfield Town earned a place in the top flight with a team put together largely through loans, free transfers and intelligent scouting.
A number of indifferent performances already has some supporters questioning the logic of a club concerned about Financial Fair Play sanctions handing 36-year-old John Terry a huge weekly wage.
The vultures are circling
Villa cannot afford another season of underperformance. Because their biggest names will not hang around forever. The Mirror reports that there are countless Premier League clubs tracking 19-year-old winger Andre Green, including Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Furthermore, last season’s top scorer Jonathan Kodjia and highly-rated playmaker Connor Hourihane (below) were linked with moves to top flight clubs this summer, suggesting that another mid-table finish will have Villa’s key men questioning whether the grass may be greener elsewhere.
Where are the goals
Villa spent around £40 million on new strikers last summer but it’s fair to say only Kodjia managed to impress after his marquee move from Bristol City, and he is currently sidelined with a broken ankle.
Ross McCormack’s best days are well behind him and, after scoring just four goals and falling out with Steve Bruce, he appears set for four months in the wilderness. Hogan, meanwhile, continues to struggle with injuries and has scored only one league goal since moving from Brentford in January.
Therefore, Bruce has been forced to rely on 19-year-old Keinan Davis who, although hugely promising, has no senior goals to his name. Only three teams scored fewer goals than Villa last season (47) and there’s little sign of an improvement just yet.
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