After a long and drawn out transfer saga, as I took to writing this article it seemed the Ron Vlaar deal was all but complete. And after all this commotion I sure hope the powerhouse centre-half is well worth it. With his arrival it looks as if James Collins’ three-year stay at the club may well be in doubt.
The Welsh defender has just one year remaining on his current deal and astonishingly picks up a whopping £40,000 per week—which to be honest is a fair bit more than what I thought he was on let alone worth. But we all know that was a tendency of Martin O’Neill, to bring in many an average player on ludicrously high salaries for a club of Villa’s standing. And despite coming to a club with a larger budget it is something Paul Lambert will be wary of and will likely not sign players who demand such disproportionate salaries.
One of the latest genuine transfer links is Ipswich Town’s 22-year-old left back Aaron Cresswell. Unfortunately he’s one player I don’t feel qualified to comment on because I’ve only seen glimpses of him, but to me the £3-4 million price tag that has been quoted seems steep for a player who’s played a little over a century of games at Football League level. But then again, he is only a young ‘un and could prove to be a real coup if a deal were to go ahead. I just don’t know.
A surprise rumour doing the rounds earlier this week was that of a move for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe. Amazingly many Villa fans were genuinely excited by the £6 million link, but I’d been extremely shocked if he were to join the club.
Defoe turns 30 in October and will demand a high pay packet, and not only that: a Bent-Defoe partnership up top has failed to work in the past and it sure as hell wouldn’t now, either. I do, however, believe Villa should be in for another forward as an understudy for Darren Bent, because if—god forbid—our number nine was to suffer another major injury like last season I’m not confident that the likes of Gabby or Weimann can come anywhere close to filling his goal scoring boots.
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Last week owner Randy Lerner took the decision to sell NFL club Cleveland Browns, which sparked rumours amongst supporters of the Villa that he could be looking to flog us, too. There’s a huge difference between the clubs in monetary value: Lerner took over Aston Villa football club in 2006 in a £62.6 million deal, whereas he’s expected to net around £600 million for the American outfit which he inherited. The two scenarios couldn’t be further apart.
I’m hoping that this coming campaign proves to be somewhat of a steady one, with Paul Lambert guiding the club to at least mid-table whilst playing attractive football, if this turns out to be the case then maybe we shall see some of Lerner’s money being ploughed into the club once again—but on a much more sensible level than when O’Neill lavished millions willy-nilly.
It may be clichéd, but under O’Neill we tried to run before we could walk, and so this season it’s about steadying the ship, and regaining a little bit of balance and perspective. And then perhaps next summer we shall see the real truth of Lerner’s intentions.
Up The Villa.
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