Aston Villa had to undergo a season of misery, grief, disappointment and frustration last term. Not for one moment they looked like a club fit enough to ply their trade in the top tier of English football and were eventually relegated from the Premier League. Going by the trend, not much of a resurrection can be derived from their Championship season so far either.
Unlike their partners in relegation, Newcastle United, the Villans haven’t had the best of months in order to get themselves promoted. With more than half of the season done and dusted. Steve Bruce’s side are caught in the cauldron of mediocrity in this campaign as well. Ten points adrift of the nearest play-off berth, Aston Villa are dampening their history for quite some time now.
They dented their pursuits further with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers last week and the scenario has started to look bleak once again for Villa as they have now accumulated just one point in their last three Championship games. Bruce knows that the January transfer window will hold paramount importance in dictating where his side’s season will incline towards, and is apparently keen on bringing Watford’s Adlène Guédioura to the Villa Park.
The 31-year-old midfielder has found opportunities pretty hard to come by and with the arrival of Tom Cleverley to the Vicarage Road, it is very unlikely that Walter Mazzarri will use Guédioura on a regular basis.
Aston Villa are expected to add some names to their ranks this month to help them steer to the top tier once again. However, the Algerian international has plenty of experience in English football, having joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2010 from Belgium-based outfit, Charleroi. Consequently, he bagged experience by being employed for Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, before signing for Watford.
By luring Guédioura to Aston Villa, Bruce will successfully add dynamism, strength and resilience in the heart of the midfield, which has been a major concern for him so far. The ones Aston Villa have with respect to the central midfield are Aaron Tshibola, Mile Jedinak, Ashley Westwood and Gary Gardner and this worries Bruce. They need someone who can knit the game-plan, inject rigidity and create chances at the same time to bring the days of glory back once again.
Coincidently, Guédioura fits the bill. Currently out of Premier League owing to his national team commitments with Algeria in the AFCON, 2017 which is going on in Gabon, the Hornets’ midfielder is a veteran customer of the game because of his experience and quality he possesses. The move, if it materialises, will be a very prudent one from Aston Villa and will also be beneficial to all the parties involved.
