In a recent report, Birmingham Mail revealed that Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Atletico Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia. It is believed that the Villans boss Steven Gerrard has personally scouted the Central African Republic international and could move in for him in the summer.
Kondogbia’s Impressive Form In Spanish Football
Kondogbia has experienced a solid season at the Wanda Metropolitano as he has put in a run of solid displays at the heart of Diego Simeone’s midfield. The 29-year-old has registered one goal and two assists in 33 matches for the Spanish outfit during this campaign on all fronts.
The France-born talent has anchored the midfield well for Atletico based on his average of 2.8 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, 0.9 clearances, 0.5 shots, 0.4 key passes and 1.2 dribbles per game in La Liga. He has even been excellent when distributing the ball from midfield after making 86.2% of his attempted passes in the Spanish top-flight (stats via whoscored).
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What Will Kondogbia Bring To Aston Villa?
Kondogbia is a strong presence at the centre of the park and can time his tackles well to earn possession back for his team. He usually senses the danger quickly and doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when needed. Kondogbia is primarily a defensive midfielder but can also fill in as a centre-half or as a box-to-box midfielder if needed.
The eight-time Central African Republic international is an accurate passer of the ball as well, so he will fit into Steven Gerrard‘s playing style quite well at Villa Park. However, there are some concerns over whether he would be able to hit the ground running in English football where he will be tested physically week in week out.
At 29, Kondogbia has still got a few good years left in him to play at a high level. Thus, we can expect him to make an instant impact if Gerrard can find a way to get a deal done for him this summer.
The Atletico talent will bring a lot of bite and steel to Aston Villa‘s midfield department. Plus, he could even help the West Midlands outfit challenge for a top-half finish in the Premier League over the next couple of years.
