Emile Heskey believes Aston Villa should be prioritising a new centre-back in the January transfer window, speaking to HITC.
While Dean Smith deserves a lot of credit for giving Villa some much-needed defensive steel, with an impressive run of clean sheets saving them from relegation last term, there is still plenty of work to be done.
The Midland giants have lost four of their last five Premier League games, conceding three times against Leeds, four against Southampton and twice more in oh-so frustrating defeats to Brighton and West Ham United.
Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa are capable of heroic performances on their day – that iconic 3-0 win at Arsenal will the product of stellar defending as well as rapid counter-attacking, after all.
But Heskey feels that Aston Villa should use the January window to add some more depth and competition to Smith’s backline.
“Defensively, I’d probably say (we need) another one to play alongside Tyrone Mings,” says the former Villa striker.
“I know he’s very quick, very dominant in the air but can you have somebody who’s a bit more of a ball-player? A younger version of John Terry would be nice!”
Finding a defender who can tackle, pass and head the ball like Chelsea’s ‘captain, leader, legend’ is easier said than done of course, especially in an era where the bidding for players like James Tarkowski tend to start at £40 million.
But perhaps Terry, in his role as Aston Villa’s assistant coach, can impart his knowledge on the promising Konsa, a defender who has all the raw talent to become one of the best in the league.
At just 23, the former Brentford stopper may be the most exciting homegrown centre-half in the Premier League.
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