Aston Villa now 'hell-bent' on key signing at Villa Park | OneFootball

Aston Villa’s ‘absolute priority’ in the remainder of the winter transfer window is to sign a new striker, Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor has told GiveMeSport.

The Midlands outfit offloaded Danny Ings to fellow Premier League outfit West Ham United earlier this month, leaving themselves short of experienced options upfront.

Aston Villa transfer news – Striker

Villa received a £15 million fee for Ings, who was struggling to receive regular starts under Unai Emery, although that has left Ollie Watkins as their only senior striker in the first-team squad.

The Villans have brought in teenage forward Jhon Duran from Chicago Fire in a deal that could rise to £18 million, but Emery has urged caution over the expectations placed on him.

“He has potential as a striker if he can develop like we are thinking he will do,” he said ahead of Villa’s recent trip to Southampton. “We can’t give him the responsibility, as a 19-year-old, to play as a striker in the Premier League against the best teams in the world.”

Duran registered and impressive eight goals and six assists in 30 appearances across all competitions for Chicago in 2021/22, although the step-up in quality to the Premier League will be vast.

What has Taylor said about Aston Villa?

Taylor believes signing a replacement for Ings will be at the top of Villa’s wish list as otherwise they will have ‘left themselves short’ for the sake of a relatively modest amount of money.

He said: “I think the striker, that is the absolute priority at the moment. I think Villa have risked it a little bit in letting Ings go.

“That tells me that they’re going to have to be hell-bent on bringing in a replacement because otherwise, they’ve left themselves short for the sake of £15 million, which is nothing really.”

Who could Aston Villa sign?

The Daily Mail have claimed that Villa have enquired about the availability of Lyon striker Moussa Dembele after he entered the final six months of his current contract.

22 goals and providing a further five assists in 36 outings for the Ligue 1 outfit.

It’s been a difficult 2022/23 for the former France Under-21 international, though, as he has started just six top-flight fixtures so far, finding the back of the net on just two occasions in 16 games.

Lyon could be willing to part ways with Dembele for as little as £3 million, though, due to his contract situation, meaning Villa could secure themselves a bargain deal.