Aston Villa’s summer transfer window saw them neglect one position completely and it’s coming back to bite them so far this season.
Unai Emery did manage to capture seven new players at Aston Villa but his attempts to land a new centre-back or right-back were thwarted.
Villa were waiting for the departure of Diego Carlos, though the Brazilian remained at the club and they also tried to sign Lutsharel Geertruida on transfer deadline day.
The Dutchman has since joined RB Leipzig while Emery has encountered issues in defence with multiple injuries to right-back Matty Cash.
The addition of Geertruida would have killed two birds with one stone, as would the signing of Joe Gomez, who Villa wanted to capture from Liverpool.
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Joe Gomez will regret not signing for Aston Villa
Gomez was one of the centre-backs placed on Aston Villa’s shortlist as they looked to address the void in defence.
The 27-year-old, who has won the Champions League with Liverpool, would have offered versatility at the back, as he’s competent as a left-back and right-back too.
In terms of quality, Gomez is right up there with the best in the Premier League, although that hasn’t been reflected in his minutes under Arne Slot.
Since the Dutchman replaced Jurgen Klopp, who once dubbed Gomez as ‘wonderful’, the Englishman has played just 55 minutes in the Premier League.
Slot has preferred a defensive partnership of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, with the pair helping Liverpool establish the league’s best defence.
As the old saying goes, it’s best to not change what is working, and this has seen Gomez make zero starts in the league, while playing just 26 minutes in the Champions League.
Gomez would have been perfect for Aston Villa
It’s understandable why a deal for Gomez was never done; Liverpool would have been foolish to sell to a direct rival while PSR problems meant Villa wouldn’t be afford to match his reported £45 million valuation.
In hindsight, though, he would have been the perfect signing for Emery, as not only is he a versatile defender but he’s also vastly experienced, appearing 143 times in the Premier League.
Further, he would have added fantastic competition for Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres in central defence while pushing the best out of Cash at right-back.
Emery has suffered injuries to some of his key players recently and Cash is one of them, forcing Konsa to play on the right side of defence.
The addition of Gomez would have negated that problem and given the Villans a quality defender in the process.
