One Player Aston Villa Must Sign This Summer | OneFootball

Planning for the Upcoming Transfer Window

The Strategic Approach to Transfers

As we approach the summer break teams will be well into their planning for the upcoming transfer window and despite the fact that there are still five weeks until the final day of the 23/24 Premier League season moves will already be in motion.

Every team has needs they need to address in the transfer market, even treble winning Manchester City who are looking a good bet for a second consecutive treble. So I felt like now would be a good time to start looking at each team and pick one area they should look to sign a player for, and pick that player to save them the hassle.

Focus on Aston Villa

Let’s continue our alphabetical wander through the Premier League with Aston Villa.

Unai Emery has done an incredible job since taking over at Villa Park. Not only are Villa currently in the top four, they’ve been a top four calibre team since he took the job.

Having replaced Steven Gerrard and inherited a team that were heading towards a relegation battle Emery has picked up points at a top four rate over a 58 game sample size. That’s incredibly impressive, especially as he hasn’t spent anything close to the amount of money his rivals have in that time.

Villa’s Summer Transfer Needs

This summer, especially if Villa do secure a top four finish and Champions League football for next season, they will need to strengthen both their squad, but also their starting 11.

Diego Carlos is far from a weak link for Villa, but he has struggled with fitness since joining the club. He missed most of last season through an achilles injury and has started only 17 of Villa’s 33 league matches this season.

The Brazilian is also 31 so Villa might be well advised to look for a long term solution who can rotate with Carlos in the short term and replace him in the long term, rather than having to shift Ezri Konsa into the middle and disrupt the backline with two changes rather than one.

Addressing Other Team Needs

There are other areas that require a bit of attention, such as a backup goalkeeper, another defensive midfielder to provide cover and competition for Boubacar Kamara when he returns, and potentially another striker to compliment Ollie Watkins. Emery might even choose to look to upgrade at leftback despite having Lucas Digne and Alex Moreno as options there.

But his first port of call should be central defense. Finding a long term partner for Pau Torres, who compliments the Spaniards style and brings recovery pace to the defensive unit.

Jean-Clair Todibo: The Ideal Fit

The best fit would appear to be Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo.

The 24 year old French international has had a strange career to date, becoming almost nomadic during his time at Barcelona, but he has really come into his own at Nice. He was performing at a level matched by very few in Europe during the first half of this season and helped Nice into second place in Ligue 1 through the first 21 weeks of the season.

There has been a lot of rumours around Manchester United making a move for Todibo but those appear to be purely rooted in the fact that United’s new minority owner also owns the French club and “journalists” putting 2 and 2 together.

Todibo’s Role in Villa’s Strategy

Todibo would be an ideal fit next to Torres and would fit like a glove into Emery’s high line defensive scheme with his recovery pace and commanding presence.

Having a defensive diamond of Emi Martinez in goal, Todibo and Torres in central defense and Boubacar Kamara in the defensive midfield role would give Villa a very strong base to build from.

Todibo is also comfortable on the ball and capable of playing in midfield and at right back if needed so he could add valuable versatility to the squad. At 24 he still has plenty of room, and time, to develop and there are few managers better suited to help him reach his potential than Unai Emery.