Aston Villa have joined the race along with two other Championship outfits for the signing of former Paris FC defender, Samuel Yohou. The 26-year-old has run out of a contract with the Ligue 2 side and is being considered as a potential replacement for John Terry at Villa Park.
Steve Bruce lost the Englishman due to various reasons, the primary one being financial complications at the club. Terry was reported to be on a £60,000-a-week for the last 12 months and was even considering a further year-long extension.
However, following Villa’s failure to earn promotion back to the Premier League, both sides had to cut ties for good. Now Bruce is left with a massive gap in his club ranks while trying to enter the 2018/19 campaign with the same winning pedigree as last season.
The Claret and Blues are desperate to fight their way back into the English top-flight but their chances might get slashed if key figures quit the side this summer. Club owner, Tony Xiao is already sweating over an unpaid £5m tax bill and is finding it hard to keep the motors running.
Bruce has been ordered to drive down the wage bill by almost half while also measuring up a decent squad for a refurbished title challenge. Yohou could be the one to fill the defensive ranks if he can find his feet in the English game.
The former Ivory Coast U20 international has no top-flight experience and only recently managed a first-team spot. He made 22 appearances last season for Paris and contributed with a goal and an assist.
Yohou spent his entire career in the French lower divisions with other clubs like SAS Epinal and AS Beziers. His abilities remain questionable even though his 6 feet 3 inches physique paints a promising picture.
Maybe Villa has to resort to cheaper talents from the far corners of Europe to complete a starting squad next term. With the rising interest in some of the current players, it is highly unlikely that Bruce will be left with only a handful of young academy graduates.
James Chester is still in the side but is wanted by many from the Premier League. Bruce will be left with only Tommy Elphick, Micah Richards and Christopher Samba if the 28-year-old quits Villa Park this summer.
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It will be interesting to see how the new Villa side fares in the coming season.
