Aston Villa news: Three signings Unai Emery should make in January
With Aston Villa still fighting on multiple fronts this season, manager Unai Emery will be looking to bolster his squad during the upcoming January transfer window.
The Villans finally snapped their eight-game winless run in a 3-1 victory over Brentford in midweek before following that up with all three points against Southampton at the weekend.
They will want to keep up the momentum through a busy festive period and beyond.
Transfer News Blitz writer Harrison Pearce identifies three signings who could reinvigorate an ambitious Villa outfit.
Fikayo Tomori, AC Milan
Villa have recently been linked with 26-year-old AC Milan centre-back Tomori after the England international was given the green light to leave the Italian club.
In addition, reports this week have suggested that AC Milan is getting ready to accelerate his departure by identifying potential replacements.
Signing Tomori would be a vital improvement to Villa’s defence, considering that the ageing Diego Carlos has made his fair share of costly mistakes in important games this season.
As a result, Carlos is now mooted for a move to Fulham, opening up room in the Villa squad for defensive reinforcements.
Tomori is thus exactly what the Midlands club needs.
The former Chelsea player has spent the last four years in Italy playing at a high level, gathering crucial Champions League experience, and winning Serie A in 2022.
If Emery does decide to bring him in, Tomori could form an exciting partnership with Pau Torres in the heart of the Villa defence for years to come.
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Denzel Dumfries, Inter Milan
Since first being linked with Dumfries a few summers ago, Villa have struggled to find a suitable long-term solution at right-back.
To make matters worse, it has become clear this season that Matty Cash has a serious injury problem, while Lamare Bogarde is simply not up to scratch.
After three successful years at Inter, in which he helped the Nerazzurri pick up a Serie A title, the Dutchman could prove the perfect addition to a Villa side in need of some defensive steel.
Crucially, if Villa do sign a specialist right-back such as Dumfries in January, that will allow star defender Ezri Konsa to shift to a more effective centre-back role in the second half of the season.
Malik Tillman, PSV Eindhoven
Originally a member of Bayern Munich’s famed youth system, Tillman graduated to the first team and helped the Bavarians to a Bundesliga title in 2022.
Following a subsequent move to PSV, the attacking midfielder claimed the Eredivisie with his new club last term.
This campaign, Tillman has made 12 goal contributions as PSV once again sit atop the Dutch league heading into December.
Having showcased his talent in exciting performances against PSG and Girona in the Champions League, the 22-year-old could be the ideal replacement for Moussa Diaby at Villa after the Frenchman's departure to the Saudi Pro League six months ago.
If signed by the Midlands club, Tillman would further provide a welcome partnership for Ollie Watkins up front and offer some much-needed pace to what has been a misfiring attack this season.
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