Aston Villa need to bring in defensive help during the January transfer window.
Aston Villa are making real progress under Dean Smith, having thrashed Middlesbrough 3-0 at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Villa now sit just three points adrift of the play-offs, and fans are hugely excited about the season under Smith having struggled earlier this term under Steve Bruce.
Smith will still want to bring in new signings in January though, and even with James Collins potentially signing on a free transfer, defensive options will be needed.
Not only is a centre back needed, but also a left back – and a player who can fill both roles would be ideal, offering competition for James Chester and Axel Tuanzebe as well as Neil Taylor.
One player who fits that specification is Brentford’s Yoann Barbet, who was signed for £600,000 by Brentford before Smith’s appointment there, but became a key player under the now-Villa boss.
Barbet, 25, is capable as both a centre back and as a left back, and could be a bargain in 2019 given that he is out of contract at the end of the season, with Brentford struggling to keep him.
It may not be a flashy signing, but with Smith utilising him to great effect at Brentford and his apparent availability in 2019, Barbet makes perfect sense as a signing to bolster Villa’s defence in two positions, without breaking the bank in doing so.
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