Will Villa look to make Snodgrass a permanent signing from West Ham?

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Can Aston Villa afford to sign Robert Snodgrass from West Ham on a permanent deal?

Robert Snodgrass of Aston Villa looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match against Preston North End.

Robert Snodgrass put in yet another impressive performance for Aston Villa as they beat Sunderland 2-1 to move up to fourth place in the Championship.

Snodgrass set up both goals to take his tally to the season to two strikes and four assists following his summer loan switch from West Ham United.

Edimilson Fernandes of West Ham United (R) comes on for Robert Snodgrass during the Premier League match against Hull City.

Things didn’t work out for the 30-year-old at the London Stadium after being signed by the Hammers from Hull City in January for £10.2m (BBC) and was deemed surplus to requirements by then manager Slaven Bilic just six months later.

Having impressed at Hull and Norwich City previously, it should perhaps come as little surprise that Snodgrass has quickly rediscovered his form at Villa, but with the deal only temporary currently the Birmingham club have a decision to make.

The Scotland international is on loan until the end of the 2017/18 campaign so Steve Bruce and the Villans hierarchy will not be forced into any move in January, however, they may want to tie up a permanent switch sooner rather than later.

Steve Bruce, manager of Aston Villa, looks on with Colin Calderwood during the Sky Bet Championship match against Sunderland.

While signing Snodgrass permanently seems like a logical step forwards, there are of course some potential obstacles associated with a deal.

The winger is under contract with the Hammers until 2020 and the East Londoners are likely to want to recoup a sizeable chunk of their outlay to the Tigers.

That could be an issue for Villa, who as CEO Keith Wyness admitted to the Birmingham Mail in September are right on the “red line” when it comes to Financial Fair Play rules, meaning they would probably need to sell players first in order to raise the funds to buy Snodgrass.