Journalist Dean Jones has spoken to This Is Futbol and claimed that Steven Gerrard will be keen to bring in another striker in the summer at Aston Villa.
Last summer, Aston Villa signed Danny Ings from fellow Premier League side Southampton, but the transfer has not gone to plan for the player nor the club, as Ings started just 22 games in the Premier League whilst netting seven times along the way – down from 12 in the previous season and 22 in the campaign before.
The main striker for Villa this season has been Ollie Watkins, who netted 11 times in 35 Premier League games, and he ended the season on a high after netting three times and assisting once in the final six league fixtures.
Despite Watkins getting into double figures this term, Jones claimed that Gerrard will want to bring another striker into the mix to perhaps take the side to the next level.
He said: “Watkins, for example, he’s a really good player, but he could have put that game against Man City to bed on Sunday, and Gerrard could have helped Liverpool win the league.
“I think there’s just a small gap right now between Aston Villa having really good forwards and great forwards, and I think that Steven Gerrard just wants to bring one more into the mix.”
Do Villa need a new striker?Yes
No
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TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Villa looked like they were progressing under Gerrard, but a few poor results towards the latter stages of the season meant that they finished 14th in the league, so the boss may be keen to bring in some new talent in the summer to improve the squad.
Watkins led the line for Villa for the majority of the season, and although he netted 11 times, he also missed 10 big chances, which was the most in the Villa squad – so the forward area may be a department that Gerrard will indeed look to strengthen.