Aston Villa eyeing late move to sign "superb" giant who’s bigger than Onana
da dobrowin： Ahead of Monday’s deadline, Aston Villa have now reportedly set their sights on a late move to sign a defensive reinforcement who even towers above midfield enforcer Amadou Onana.
Emery admits Aston Villa still have "work to do"
da poker： The latest team to be left frustrated by PSR rules, Aston Villa have endured a tough summer and have struggled to get out the blocks in the Premier League as a result. Having so far welcomed just Evann Guessand, Yasin Ozcan and Marco Bizot, to say that it’s been an underwhelming transfer window would be an understatement.
Unai Emery is well aware that there’s still work to be done, however – telling reporters last weekend: “The club are working hard to get our structure as strong as possible with the players in the squad, trying to get two players for each position. There is still work to do, maybe even some players leaving more and we will have to sign and complete the squad with some players.
“The first reason now why we are missing something other in our structure and in our squad with our players because some players left one week or two weeks ago when we were expecting to a deal before.
“We are working and we have some solutions to try to fix it. But we have to be alert, keep going and the players we have now is enough to compete but thinking all season, thinking hopefully we will face more than 50 matches, we will have to get balanced players in the squad and add more players to it.”
On that front, the Villans have been linked with moves for the likes of Christopher Nkunku and Adrien Rabiot, but could instead turn their focus towards welcoming a towering central defender before the deadline.
Aston Villa targeting late Kristensen move
According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Aston Villa are now eyeing a late move to sign Thomas Kristensen from Udinese. Even taller than Onana at a staggering 6’5, Kristensen would offer Emery quite the threat from set pieces whilst also handing the Spaniard the defensive cover that he’s been searching for this summer.
League stats 24/25
Thomas Kristensen
Tyrone Mings
Minutes
1,754
1,120
Tackles Won
21
6
Ball Recoveries
63
38
Successful Aerial Duels
61
27
Compared to Tyrone Mings last season, it’s clear that Kristensen would be an instant upgrade for those at Villa Park. The 23-year-old naturally impressed in the air, but also proved that he’s capable elsewhere after winning 21 tackles.
Described as a “superb” defender by scout Jacek Kulig back in February, Kristensen still has levels to reach at a relatively young age and Emery could help pave the way towards reaching that potential.
That said, if those in the Midlands want to secure his signature, then they will have to turn their interest into a concrete move fairly quickly with the deadline approaching.
The Villans have until midnight on Tuesday to turn what has been a difficult transfer window into one good enough to help Emery secure European football once again.
