Hoping to add some crucial squad depth amid their attempts to balance European and domestic football, Aston Villa are now reportedly battling to sign a Championship defender who’s been compared to Harry Maguire.
Aston Villa transfer news
Whilst the Villans haven’t stolen the same headlines as last season amid their battle to compete on all fronts, Unai Emery’s side have still had some moments to savour, defeating both Bayern Munich and, more recently, Manchester City in convincing fashion. It’s the type of results that once seemed a fantasy and fantasy only, but Emery now has the Midlands club living their reality in dreamland.
Aston Villa may join Premier League race to sign "excellent" £40m attacker
The Villans are competing with the Premier League’s best once again.
ByTom CunninghamDec 20, 2024
Villa won’t want it to end just yet, however. They’ll be desperate to make it back-to-back top four finishes this season to establish themselves once and for all among the Premier League’s very best.
To do that though, they’ll need to shift their focus back towards the transfer market with rumours already beginning to emerge around just who Aston Villa could welcome in the January window. Names such as Manfred Ugalde have already been mentioned as he continues a fine season in front of goal, but it could yet be a Championship defender who truly steals the headlines.
According to Graeme Bailey for The Boot Room, Aston Villa are now battling to sign Daniel Ballard in a hectic race for his signature ahead of the likes of Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Sunderland defender has impressed in the Championship and, with or without the Black Cats, looks destined to reach England’s top flight. At 25 years old, a move to a club on the rise such as Aston Villa would be perfectly timed and would hand Ballard a route back to the Premier League for the first time since leaving Arsenal in 2022.
"Brilliant" Ballard could replace Mings
As talented as Aston Villa’s squad is, they’ve got an ageing backline to address sooner rather than later. As things stand, Emery has two centre-backs above the age of 30 in Diego Carlos and Tyrone Mings – with the latter just returning from an ACL injury – and Pau Torres, who is 27 years old and at his best. And whilst that’s no reason to panic, it will become a problem if the Villans don’t add a player of Ballard’s calibre in 2025.
The Sunderland defender is just 25 years old and at the peak of his powers in a rise that Tony Mowbray saw coming during his time at the Stadium of Light. The former Black Cats boss told reporters via Chronicle Live last September: “He’s an outstanding defender, he’s a brilliant footballer. I say we’re lucky to have him, but it was brilliant recruitment to bring Dan Ballard to this football club. He’s a diamond of a lad.
“I’m not sure where his ceiling is but he’s a wonderful footballer and an old-school centre-half who puts his body on the line. And if he plays against a really strong player, he just gets stronger himself.”
Also compared to Manchester United defender Maguire by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, Ballard remains one to watch.