Aston Villa have the potential to finish the season strongly with a European trophy and Champions League qualification.
The Villans delivered a disastrous performance in their Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend, but Unai Emery will be hoping the heavy rotation pays off when they face Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie this week.
Villa are currently 1-0 down to the Tricky Trees from the first leg, but will host their Premier League peers at Villa Park on Thursday evening and will feel there is a real opportunity to be taken on home soil.
The Midlands club has made huge progress in its quest for success and to become a consistent threat to the ‘big six’ in the league table, but must continue to recruit well to keep up with strengthening competition.
With the summer transfer window rapidly approaching, Villa have an opportunity to present a strong project to potential targets if they can progress in the Europa League and secure Champions League football for next season.
Aggressive recruitment and squad building will be essential to keeping up with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal, so it is expected that the Villans will be active in the transfer market.
According to TuttoSport, Aston Villa are reigniting their long-term interest in a move for Juventus striker Jonathan David.
The Midlands club were scouting the Canadian goalscorer before his move to Italy last summer and now believe there is an opportunity to finally secure his signature, despite him only being with Juve for 12 months.
Should Villa sign Jonathan David?
There is no doubt that the poor performance against Spurs this weekend was a glaring example of the lack of squad depth at Villa Park.
Their current striker options are limited to Tammy Abraham and Ollie Watkins, with the latter the most prolific but too heavily relied upon as a sole source of output in front of goal at the age of 30.
David, once hailed as a “rare talent” by former Juve boss Igor Tudor, has not had the best time in Serie A since moving from LOSC Lille last summer, registering just eight goals and five assists in 44 appearances this season.
Boasting strengths in his passing range, finishing and ability to create key chances, David has the attributes to be a success under the guidance of Emery, but would represent a significant risk given his struggles in Serie A and the demands of the Premier League.
Though the Canadian’s time at Juventus has been short, the Serie A giants signed him as a free agent and could look to sell him to a Premier League club for pure profit to build the funds to improve their squad for next season.
With that being said, a formal approach for the striker will likely depend on the price tag attached this summer, and the Villa hierarchy will need to decide whether the investment is worth the gamble to bolster their forward line for next season.
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