As per one of the latest reports by Football Ghana, Aston Villa are keen to sign Bologna’s defender, Filip Helander, in the upcoming January transfer window. Apart from the Villans, Leeds United are also monitoring Helander and thus, it implies that the race to sign him might be a competitive one. Both these clubs are seemingly keen to bolster their central defence and no wonder they have put him on their radar.
Helander emerged through the youth ranks of the Swedish outfit, Malmo, before being promoted to their senior side. After proving his credentials with Malmo, he was signed by Italy-based side, Verona, and then his services were acquired by Bologna in the summer of 2016. Thus far in his career, he has made a steady progress and has the requisite calibre to excel. He made his first appearance for the Swedish national side this year and is well in contention to carve a place for himself in their World Cup squad.
So far this season, the Swedish international has been pretty decent and reliable, being quite a regular player as well. He has been able to manage 12 appearances to his name, and has made 1.2 tackles, 1 interception, 4.5 clearances and 0.8 blocks per game on an average. He has looked very resilient at the back and no wonder why he has started to get recognized by two quality Championship clubs. Steve Bruce’s side do need him, and it is hard to argue on this.
Aston Villa do have an ageing defence, and they have relied heavily on two veterans in the shapes of John Terry and Christopher Samba, and Tommy Elphick hasn’t been really productive this season. The Claret & Blues have had a decent season so far in the Championship, having collected 36 points from their first 20 games and have really established themselves as one of the sides capable enough to earn a promotion to the Promised Land of Premier League.
Bruce has to look for the future now and Helander could be a smart signing for him. The 24-year-old is a resilient centre-back who has accumulated notable amount of experience under his belt and has been making shrewd tackles and interceptions in Serie A. How Aston Villa work things out for themselves in January transfer window to beef up their arsenal would have a massive say in their quest for promotion and Helander has the ingredients to be the much needed breeze of change.
