Were Aston Villa right not to sign Charlie Austin?
Aston Villa acted quickly after selling Christian Benteke to snap up a highly rated Championship striker.
But it was not in-demand Charlie Austin, but Blackburn Rovers’ consistent aerial threat Rudy Gestede.
That faith was paid off on the season’s opening day as Gestede netted a winner over Bournemouth.
Yet with only a fraction of the fee spent on him from the Benteke sale, it is a surprise that Gestede was the only striker Aston Villa signed before the transfer deadline passed.
The Mirror had reported in July that Villa boss Tim Sherwood planned to sign Austin, and take on competition from Newcastle United, Leicester City and Crystal Palace.
Austin was QPR’s top scorer last year and the second highest English scorer in the Premier League, behind only Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
It remains some surprise that no team were able to prise Austin away from QPR, or at least meet their asking price.
Aston Villa were in the market for a forward as negotiations for Emmanuel Adebayor and Dimitar Berbatov showed, perhaps having a good near miss on both players.
Austin though is different. More expensive yes, and with an injury history, but he was fully fit last season and has been this campaign too, and would have been a solid bet to net into double figures for Villa this time around.
Considering Sherwood’s close rapport with Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey at QPR, one may have thought that would provide an advantage to do a deal, yet the lack of willingness to do so could in one regard be telling in terms of doubts over Austin’s ability to replicate his 2014/15 form again.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
