The Villans appear eager to sign another mercurial Brazilian talent in the January transfer window.
With the January transfer window officially open, fans are waiting to see if high-flying Aston Villa will add to their squad this month, since the Midlands club is yet to make a senior addition.
While recent reports suggest that a deal to recruit 18-year-old defender Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star Belgrade is nearing completion, the teenager is not likely to arrive in England until the summer, making him more of a long-term addition for Villa Park.
There will surely be a desire to bring in a more well-known name who can immediately impact the first team, but supporters will be wary of being stung by the signing of a high-profile figure, as they were with Philippe Coutinho two years ago.
According to the most recent reports, the championship contenders appear to be repeating their last error by signing another temperamental Brazilian talent.
Aston Villa wants to sign an ex-Premier League loser.
According to Italian site Tuttosport, as quoted by Il Bianconero, Villa are presently leading the battle to sign Lazio playmaker Felipe Anderson, with the former West Ham United player appearing available with only six months left on his current contract in Rome.
According to the source, the Serie A club intends to offer the 30-year-old, who is also garnering interest from Juventus, a contract extension until 2028, despite Unai Emery’s side now being in the ‘front row’ for his signature if a new agreement is not reached.
The experienced forward, who was once West Ham’s club-record signing at £36 million, lasted only three years at the London Stadium before moving to the Italian capital on a measly £2.6 million deal, with the Hammers able to recoup 50% of any future sale.
Felip Anderson’s record in the Premier League
On the surface, it appears to be a wise decision for Emery and Monchi to sign the two-cap Brazil international on the cheap, especially given Anderson’s recent success at the Stadio Olimpico, where he has scored twice and provided seven assists in all competitions this season.
In total, the £47k-per-week enigma has provided 55 goals and 63 assists in 303 appearances for his present club over two seasons, but it should not overshadow what was mostly a disappointing previous term in English football.
As Forbes’ Adam Digby stated upon the 5’9″ maverick’s move from Lazio to the Irons in 2018, he can “be either unplayable for opponent defences or, um, unplayable for his own management.” Brilliant or dreadful, depending on the day/month/weather/time” – a forecast that ultimately came to fulfillment for the Hammers.
The east London club’s return of 12 goals and 13 assists in 72 games was barely outstanding, with only 18 goals and 13 assists in 63 Premier League matches.
Anderson, like Coutinho, the “creative genius” lauded by pundit Phil Thompson, has moments of magic – as illustrated below – but he is much too frequently unreliable or erratic.
It may be unrealistic to expect the former Porto loanee to have a different story this time around, as any agreement would be a short-term acquisition, similar to the arrival of a then-29-year-old Coutinho in 2022.
Despite the early hype surrounding the latter’s temporary arrival from Barcelona, he is now on loan at Qatari side Al-Duhail, having scored only six goals and three assists in 43 games for Villa Park.
Even after previously flourishing in the Premier League, unlike Anderson for Liverpool, where he scored 99 goals in 201 games, Coutinho couldn’t make it work the second time around, leaving Villa with a costly mistake on a reported £145k-per-week salary prior to his move to Qatar.
To then sign Coutinho’s compatriot, who generally plays as a number 10 or on the sides, feels like history repeating itself…
Manchester United might sign these three strikers to replace Rasmus Hojlund.
Manchester United’s attack has been lackluster this season, as evidenced by the fact that just three sides have scored less league goals than them.
However, the most watched player is 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund, who only joined the Red Devils last summer for £72 million.
Since signing from Atalanta, the Danish striker has only scored twice in 16 Premier League games, falling short of his lofty expectations.
Despite scoring in his last two games, Erik ten Hag is still looking for a new centre-forward to lead the line.
So, let’s look at three dream strikers that Manchester United may recruit in the near future to replace Hojlund.
Serhou Guirassy is looking like one of the best value-for-money buys on the market, as according to Football Insider, Man Utd are interested in signing the Stuttgart star for just £15m in January.
The 27-year-old has been one of the most productive strikers in the Bundesliga this season, scoring 17 goals and providing two assists in just 14 games.
Those stats blow Hojlund out of the water, and his consistency in finding the back of the net would make him a cheap, realistic upgrade over the Dane.
The next striker who might push Hojlund down the pecking order is Ajax’s Brian Brobbey, who previously worked with Ten Hag at the Dutch club.
According to a story published by the Mirror at the end of last week, United intend to sign Brobbey this summer.
This season, the 21-year-old has emerged as a vital figure for Ajax, with 13 goal contributions in 16 Eredivisie starts.
Not only would Brobbey score goals, but he would also raise those around him with his propensity to create chaos in the final third, as evidenced by his shot-creating actions ranking in the top 5% of the Eredivisie this season, according to FBref.
As a result, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Alejandro Garnacho might all benefit from the former Leipzig attacker.
Despite only going to Portugal this summer for £20 million from Coventry, Viktor Gyokeres might be on the move again after impressing for Sporting.
According to a report from Correio da Mania via The Sun at the end of December, Ten Hag is interested in signing the Sweden star, and his £87 million release clause might be activated this summer.
Gyokeres is the epitome of a complete striker, able to score and create from nothing. The 25-year-old has an outstanding 11 goals and eight assists in 16 Liga Portugal games this season.
According to FBref’s comparison tool, the clinical striker outperforms Hojlund in nearly every parameter, as evidenced by the table below, which includes a few statistics from their respective leagues.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will want to start his United journey with a bang, and signing a finisher who has been hailed as a “Rolls-Royce” striker by football writer Zach Lowy, would be the ideal way to do it.
