Aston Villa could land themselves some vital strength in depth with a summer swoop for a former Premier League regular…
What’s the word?
According to the Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, the Midlands outfit are keen to land Atletico Madrid defender Kieran Trippier in order to bolster Dean Smith’s leaky defence.
It’s claimed that the Villa boss has made a new right-back one of his top priorities before the start of the new season and is targeting an ambitious move for the Englishman either on loan or on a permanent basis.
The 29-year-old has featured quite a bit under Diego Simeone and is valued at £25.2m by Transfermarkt. The Sun suggested back in May that £20m could be enough to tempt Atletico into a sale.
Defensive depth
Smith has regularly played summer arrival Frederic Guilbert in the right-back role but post-lockdown, the Frenchman was only able to make two appearances.
Meanwhile, at 32 years old, Ahmed Elmohamady is hardly going to be an option for much longer.
Trippier played 32 times in all competitions for the Spanish giants, averaging 2 tackles, 1.7 key passes, 1.6 clearances and 1.3 crosses per game, via WhoScored.
This suggests he’s a slightly more attacking option along the right flank than Smith’s current duo – Guilbert managed just 0.6 crosses and 0.5 key passes each match this term.
Following his debut at the Wanda Metropolitano, Trippier was likened to David Beckham because of his crossing ability by Marca which is hardly a surprise given the former Manchester United man also swapped the Premier League for the Spanish capital.
Gareth Southgate is also a big fan with him still getting selected for this Three Lions squad and prior to the 2018 World Cup, the England boss labelled Trippier as a player with “outstanding quality”.
That’s exactly what Aston Villa would be getting, so Johan Lange should definitely push for this move even if it is a bid bold.
AND in other news, Villa facing an uphill battle to secure £18m transfer…