According to Aksam in Turkey (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa are willing to spend £15m to sign Crystal Palace’s striker Alexander Sorloth. The Norwegian forward is currently enjoying a fruitful spell in the Turkish league with Trabzonspor where he is on loan.
Villa recently sent scouts to see Fenerbahce’s forward Vedat Muriqi in action, but it was Sorloth who managed to catch their attention. Trabzonspor have an option to make the move permanent for him for €6m. Villa meanwhile are looking to swoop in with a £15m move for Sorloth.
Striker situation at Villa Park
Aston Villa have had a whole host of issues when it has come to picking their striker. Dean Smith was out of fit strikers in January with Wesley Moraes suffering a severe injury. Jonathan Kodjia was allowed to leave in January. Keinan Davis has also been injured. Hence, Smith had to bring in two strikers last month. The club managed to sign Mbwana Samatta from Belgian champions Genk. They also picked up Borja Baston on a free transfer from Swansea City.
Villa are still seemingly looking for a new striker even after signing two in January. Aston Villa’s transfer plans for the summer would likely depend on whether they manage to stay up in the Premier League. We don’t think that they would look to add Sorloth for £15m if they go down to the Championship. However, Villa might be able to finance it if they can sell someone like Moraes for a sizeable fee.
What can Sorloth offer?
The Norwegian striker has been in impressive form this season for Trabzonspor. Sorloth has 21 goals and six assists in 32 appearances in all competitions this season. The striker has also represented his country 22 times.
Sorloth stands in at 6ft4, and he is typically known for his strength, physicality and hold up play. He can play as a targetman for Aston Villa. The 24-year-old can also link up play well by coming short. Sorloth is adept at playing with his back behind the goal, and he has showcased impressive finishing skills as well.
Should Villa sign Sorloth?
However, we feel that he can be hit and miss kind of signing for Villa. The striker has been on the books with Crystal Palace since 2018, and he has barely made any impact for them. Sorloth has shown real improvements this season, but one cannot compare the Turkish league to the Premier League in terms of quality.
Against tougher opponents in the Europa League, Sorloth failed to score any goal in the four appearances he made this season. He remained on the bench for one of the games, and he was unable to make the squad in another. Once, everyone is fit; Smith will have four strikers to work with in the form of Moraes, Baston, Samatta and Davis. Hence, we don’t see the need for Villa to sign Sorloth.
