We’re well into the Championship season now and Aston Villa are already onto their second manager following the sacking of Steve Bruce back in October. Dean Smith, the new man around town, has been brought in to change the club’s fortunes – and he’s doing a pretty good job of it so far.
Until now Dean Smith has had to work with a squad he’s inherited from his predecessors, which isn’t always the easiest dynamic to traverse. But January will soon be upon us, and with it Smith’s first opportunity to develop the squad as his own.
That means new players coming in and old players going out. And, given Villa’s recent financial woes, we suspect that the latter will be the more likely.
That said, here are two players who could be leaving this window…
Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish is back in the news again with a possible transfer to Tottenham depending on how their situation with Christian Eriksen, who’s recently been linked with a move away from the club, unfolds in the coming months (via BirminghamMail).
Grealish was already the subject of a failed bid back in the summer with Spurs’ owner Daniel Levy refusing to meet Villa’s asking price.
However, they’re facing the very real prospect of losing their star man now that Levy may be back with a more generous offer. And the offer in question may be too good for Aston Villa to refuse if they want to avoid another debt induced mishap.
The player himself has admitted in the past that he was “disappointed” (via SkySports) that the move to north London never happened, so a revived Tottenham bid could represent the final nail in the coffin of his Villa career.
Henri Lansbury
Henri Lansbury has all but disappeared since relinquishing his captaincy at Nottingham Forest and making the move over to Aston Villa.
Despite being an incredibly talented player, Steve Bruce didn’t appear to want to give him the time of day, and he was very rarely apart of any of the ex-bosses’ plans. Even now it seems things aren’t going much better for the player, who’s clearly been affected by his minor role, with Dean Smith also opting to leave him out of first-team proceedings.
He’s only 28-years old so there’s plenty of time left for Lansbury to revive his career, and there will be no shortage of suitors if he’s available. He just needs to make the right choice this January and propose a move away from Villa.
Villa fans – thoughts? Let us know below!
