View: Aston Villa do not need an elite midfielder this summer, but will do later
Aston Villa are on the hunt for a new midfielder this summer, but they should not rush into a deal just for the sake of it.
The club have already signed Boubacar Kamara for the holding midfield berth this summer, plugging a hole that had existed in the squad for two years.
Steven Gerrard confirmed in an interview with VillaTV earlier in the month that the club wanted another midfielder, however, which left some scratching their heads.
Villa are already stacked in midfield, having Kamara, Marvelous Nakamba and Douglas Luiz for the holding spot as well as John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Sanson for the more advanced roles with good youngsters as backup options.
While there are transfer rumours swirling around Luiz and Sanson as well as Carney Chukwuemeka, a new elite midfielder is unnecessary right now.
One step at a time
The crux of the reason why so many fans, and most likely Gerrard, is so keen on a new top-level midfielder is to realise the club’s ambition of returning to the top six.
European football has been the goal of the club ever since the NSWE takeover in 2018 and they have made great strides towards it.
The 2020/21 season in particular saw Villa on the cusp of a top-half finish for the first time in a decade, but things have changed since then.
Despite the sale of Jack Grealish, fans were still optimistic going into the 2021/22 season and were again dreaming of Europe.
However, Dean Smith was sacked, the club failed to gain any real momentum all season and they ended up finishing 14th.
The story of last season is the core of the reason why they do not need an elite midfielder now, they cannot run before they can walk.
It is correct that few of Villa’s current midfield crop are of top six quality, but the reality is that the club itself is nowhere near the top six right now.
While West Ham proved that jumping from lower-midtable straight into the European spots is possible, it is still unlikely and sets the team up for failure.
What Villa need right now is a season of stability and to return to the top half before then upgrading the midfield for elite-level players and pushing for Europe.
The club cannot carry themselves like Manchester City when they have not finished in the top half of the Premier League since 2011.
However, they can still mount a push for silverware, with the Carabao Cup looking like a potential route back into the big time.
Once Villa gets over that hurdle, then they can begin to upgrade to elite-level players, but not before.
In other Aston Villa news, Steven Gerrard is set to demand £20million for Carney Chukwuemeka this summer.