Aston Villa Opinion: Signing League Two star Bruno Andrade would make little sense for the Lions
According to Lincolnshire Live, Aston Villa are weighing up a move for Lincoln City star Bruno Andrade, with League One outfit Portsmouth also keen on securing the services of the 25-year-old Portuguese winger.
Andrade is not the only Lincoln City player to have attracted interest from higher league clubs though, with 18-year-old midfielder Ellis Chapman also bring tracked by Southampton, Wigan Athletic and Derby County. (h/t Lincolnshire Live)
Bruno Andrade was one of the stars of Lincoln City’s promotion-winning League Two campaign, as the Portuguese bagged 10 goals and 6 assists from a left-wing position to fire the Imps into the League One as the champions of the fouth division.
The 25-year-old former QRP youth product made 42 appearances for Lincoln and was arguably their most impressive performer this past season.
The news of Aston Villa’s links with Bruno Andrade comes as a big shock to the fans at Villa Park given that the Lions are already in the finals of the promotion-playoffs after beating West Brom in the semi-finals on penalties.
Villa are set to face Frank Lampard’s Derby County in the final at Wembley towards the end of the month and there is every chance that they could be in the Premier League next season.
Andrade put in a string of impressive performances for the Imps in the recently-concluded season and proved that he is certainly head and shoulders above League Two standards.
However, it would be a massive ask for him to make a triple jump up to the Premier League next season, or a double for that matter to the Championship if Villa lose in the playoff finals.
The difference in the level of intensity and quality between League Two and the Championship or the Premier League is massive and Villa’s links with the player look quite inexplicable on paper.
Villa are on the verge of making a much-anticipated return to the top-flight and signing a player like Andrade would make little sense. Even if they have seen something extraordinary in the Portuguese winger, the Lions would be better off looking at other options in the market.
Interestingly, Andrade has hardly ever played in the Championship or the Premier League, barring a 10-minute cameo for QPR in the top-flight seven years back. It would be hard to expect a player who has plied his trade in the lower divisions of English football for his entire career to make the step up to the Premier League all off a sudden, no matter how good he is.
The player in question was in the fifth tier with Boreham Wood and Woking a couple of seasons back and has only recently shot to prominence in League Two, although he had mediocre spells with Wycombe Wanderers and Stevenage in the fourth-tier earlier in his career.
Not only that, Andrade is already 25 and he doesn’t fall in the bracket of a promising youngster, so Villa’s interest in the player goes against all logic and reason.
Indeed, Villa need to bring in some quality players this summer if they manage to secure promotion to the Premier League. The Lions can certainly do with a few additions to their wide options but they are not in a dire crisis at the moment which necessitates looking at players in League Two.
On the contrary, Villa should prioritise striking a permanent deal for Lille winger Anwar El Ghazi, who has played an important role in the promotion push. Plus, they have players like Andre Green and Albert Adomah, who are not world-beaters but certainly better than Bruno Andrade.
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If the Lions are really serious about signing new players in the summer, they should look at options who can be an upgrade on what they already have in their ranks. Bruno Andrade apparently doesn’t fall in that category and the fans have every reason to expect a lot more ambition from the club in the transfer window.
