Highlights
- Aston Villa boss Unai Emery wants to bolster his squad with a new striker and midfielder in the January transfer window.
- Journalist Dean Jones suggests that Villa should find a backup for Ollie Watkins, stating that it would be difficult to find someone willing to play second fiddle to him.
- Aston Villa is monitoring Ajax midfielder Kenneth Taylor, who is highly rated and attracting interest from several clubs, including Manchester City and Manchester United.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is no stranger to a blockbuster transfer and is now reportedly eyeing a move to bolster his engine room in the January window.
Aston Villa transfer updates…
Undoubtedly, Aston Villa’s recruitment in the summer window has given them a platform to shine this term in the Premier League as the West Midlands-based outfit look to keep themselves in a position to potentially secure Champions League qualification this campaign.
New arrivals Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans, Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet have helped to provide balance and depth to Emery’s talented squad over the course of the first period of the season; however, the Villans will be keen to add more quality to their ranks in January in order to keep pace with the elite of English football.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Dean Jones has indicated that Emery could look to bring a striker to Villa Park in January to ease fears over Ollie Watkins potentially sustaining an injury in the near future, as he stated to the outlet:
“The obvious place to look is what happens if Ollie Watkins gets injured? That’s the big question you would be asking.”
He then added: “I think if you were Villa right now, could they really make up for, not just his goals, but his presence and his link-up play and the way that he fits this system. I think that’s something that they’ll have to consider. It’s going to be really difficult to find someone though that wants to play backup to Watkins.”
Now, a fresh report has indicated that Aston Villa could also aim to bring in a new midfielder come the New Year; however, they will face stiff competition for his signature.
Aston Villa want Kenneth Taylor
As per a report from TEAMtalk, Aston Villa are monitoring Ajax midfielder Kenneth Taylor, who could be made available by the Dutch giants in 2024 amid their struggles in the Eredivisie this campaign.
Manchester City and Manchester United have already scouted the Netherlands international. At the same time, Newcastle United, Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur all retain an interest in the 21-year-old. Taylor would be reluctant to leave Ajax in January; however, the summer window could be a different story as his stock continues to rise across Europe.
The Alkmaar-born ace has been a key player for Ajax in 2023/24, registering two goals and two assists in 19 appearances across all competitions (Taylor statistics – Transfermarkt).
Back in 2021, Taylor was afforded high praise from talent scout Jacek Kulig, who labelled him a “huge talent” back when he was involved with Jong Ajax, as he took to social media platform X to state the following.
Clearly someone with plenty of room to develop, Aston Villa could be the perfect destination for Taylor to take his next career step, though you would suspect interest in his services will continue to grow over the coming months.
