Aston Villa have made a searing start to the transfer window however, Monchi still needs to fix one looming problem.
After combating Aston Villa’s PSR concerns, Unai Emery and Monchi are on the prowl for new signings.
Offloading Douglas Luiz, Omari Kellyman and Tim Iroegbunam proved to be pivotal for the Midlands club, who have avoided a financial breach.
On Monday, Ross Barkley became the latest player to arrive at Bodymoor Heath although Monchi must turn his attention back to exploring the market to bolster one critical position.
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Monchi told to address Aston Villa centre-back issue this summer
Despite the transfer market being orchestrated impressively by Monchi so far at Villa Park, the Spaniard has been warned of one ‘key issue’ he must solve this summer.
Speaking on the Claret and Blue podcast, journalist John Townley expressed the need for Villa to recruit a new central defender in the transfer window.
“It’s frustrating because if you’ve Konsa plus another centre-back, Carlos, or a new defender, and then you’ve got Torres and a fully-fit Mings, I think that’s actually brilliant depth and quality there.”
With Mings set to return from an ACL injury that cost him the entire 2023/24 season, Townley stressed his concern over the Englishman’s fitness, and raised other uncertainties in the position.
“Mings is the key one here because if Pau Torres gets an injury, which he did last season, he was out for two months, you’ve got a real problem there, then we only have two centre-backs.
“Things happen in a season, all of a sudden you don’t have any centre-backs. That is a key issue, we need four centre-backs, at the moment we have two, plus one that we think is going to be Carlos, or a different centre-back to Carlos.
“That is the one area for me that we are lacking options and depth, there are question marks.”
Villa must desperately hunt for a central defender in the transfer window
Townley’s comments ring true, with Monchi’s next move needing to be in the direction of a new centre-back.
With Mings’ fitness unknown and Diego Carlos’ future speculated, Villa are left with Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa although Emery prefers to play the England international on the right side.
Interestingly, Villa have been linked to Udinese centre-back Jaka Bijol this week, a player that could provide added support in the position ahead of next season.
Last term, Emery’s depth in defence was truly tested, with the Spaniard’s favoured back four not available for the entire campaign, as Mings suffered his injury on the opening day.
With the stakes even higher and the Champions League approaching, the Villa boss will not want to enter the season with last year’s issues, making Monchi’s task now clear.
