After consecutive relegation battles, it would have seemed almost inconceivable that Aston Villa would make it three in a row during the 2014/2015 season. Unfortunately for Paul Lambert’s men, they have struggled to find any form of consistency once again as the Midlands club find themselves perilously close to danger as the Premier League enters the business stage of the season. Scoring a mere eleven goals is primarily the root of their problem, but failing to win in seven is a clear sign that confidence is low at Villa Park. Lambert is under pressure from the Villa faithful to transform their fortunes, but in 22-year-old Carles Gil, the Scotsman may have secured a real bargain. £3.2 million was enough to secure the former Valencia player’s services, and has already shown enough quality to suggest that Aston Villa’s relegation odds on http://www.bookies.com may not come to fruition.
Talented midfielder
Injecting additional quality and creativity into the midfield area may be the perfect tonic Aston Villa need to kick-start their season and start climbing up the table. Villa fans may argue that Fabian Delph signing a new contract is the best piece of business conducted by the club this season, but Gil will provide something different to a team that struggle to create chances, let alone take them. It came as a surprise that Valencia were willing to let a highly talented player leave the club for a relatively small fee, but their loss could be Aston Villa’s gain; Gil has already shown glimpses of real quality that make it easy to see why the young Spaniard has been compared with David Silva. The sublime goal he scored against Bournemouth in the FA Cup has already got Villa fans excited about his potential, with more of the same required if the team are to halt their alarming slump in form.
Do Villa need to add more?
Lambert may look to bed Gil into life in the Premier League slowly in order to get the very best from the creative midfielder, but it remains to be seen whether the 22-year-old is the one and only signing Aston Villa make in the January transfer window. It is difficult to gage where the club stand financially, with chairman Randy Lerner still in control despite revealing that he wanted to sell the club last summer, but they may need more recruitments to prevent their third battle against relegation from being unsuccessful. Key injuries to Ron Vlaar and Gabriel Agbonlahor have certainly not helped their cause, but it may be too much to ask of Gil to become Aston Villa’s overnight saviour. However, the young Spaniard certainly has more than enough talent and ability to make a name for himself in the Premier League, although how long they stay there remains to be seen.
