Aston Villa wasted no time early into the summer transfer window by making five signings to make sure their squad is ready to compete and improve upon their last season in the Premier League.
Steven Gerrard joined the Villains back in November, so next season will be his first full campaign with the side and will surely be hoping that after the entire summer to prepare his team ahead of their return to action, the team will excel even further.
Despite already making several new signings, there may be another opportunity to strengthen the attacking threat in the team, especially after Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings failed to light up the forward line with only 18 goals combined throughout last season.
One player who has been recently linked with a move to Villa Park is Espanyol striker Raul de Tomas, a forward with a reported price tag of £30m who could certainly improve the number of goal contributions being completed in the team.
Over 34 La Liga appearances, De Tomas scored 17 goals, delivered three assists and created two big chances, making 1.1 clearances and taking 3.1 shots per game last season.
The Spanish striker who branded himself as “gifted” was the third highest scoring player, ranked fourth for most big chances created and ranked third for the most shots on target in the entirety of La Liga last season, proving that he is a highly efficient forward who could be a valuable asset next season for the Villa team.
Gerrard could even land his very own Luis Suarez with the signing of de Tomas, as the Villa boss’ former Liverpool teammate was one of the most comparable players to the 27-year-old talent, according to FBref.
Despite the Atletico Madrid forward having a better shot on target accuracy (45.1%), de Tomas outperformed his peer in several areas with more goal contributions in fewer appearances (20), a better pass completion rate (82.6%) and made more shot-creating actions (65).
Should Villa sign Raul de Tomas?
With that being said, the signing of De Tomas could give Aston Villa a big upgrade in their front line and also provide Coutinho with a strike partner that could be deadly for their opponents when the team returnS to action next month.
AND in other news: Villa given green light to sign 44-goal “massive talent”, he’s better than Chukwuemeka
