Why Aston Villa holding onto Orjan Nyland is the safest bet at the moment
According to Turkish outlet Fanatik via Sport Witness (h/t Birmingham Mail), Besiktas are eying a move for Aston Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.
The Villa goalkeeper is seen as a replacement for Besiktas custodian Loris Karius, whose two-year loan deal at the Turkish club is set to expire this summer (h/t Birmingham Mail).
29-year-old Nyland joined Villa from Bundesliga outfit FC Ingolstadt in the summer of 2018. He played half of Villa’s promotion-winning campaign in the Championship in his maiden year at Villa Park.
However, fate had other plans for him as he suffered an Achilles injury in late December that ruled him out until the summer. Meanwhile, things changed at Villa, with manager Dean Smith signing Englishman Tom Heaton from Burnley last summer.
This restricted the Norwegian’s opportunities in the Premier League, as Heaton became the side’s first-choice keeper. Nyland has been limited to the sidelines, with his only three appearances in the league coming due to injuries to his teammates. Meanwhile, things have once again changed at Villa as Heaton suffered an injury in January, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Smith, however, despite having back-up goalkeepers Nyland and Jed Steer in the side, chose to go for a new option to save a struggling Villa, who are most likely to face relegation. Considering the club’s precarious stage, Smith roped in veteran and experienced campaigner Pepe Reina from Serie A side AC Milan on loan for the rest of the season.
However, the 37-year-old has been far from impressive, conceding 13 goals in the six games that he has played. The Spaniard is expected to return to his parent club soon (h/t Birmingham Mail) and Villa will be left with none other than Nyland and Steer as Heaton will take some time to come back from his injury layoff.
That said, and also considering the fact that Villa’s Premier League future hangs in balance, now would not be a good time to sell Nyland as it would affect their team balance for the upcoming season.
Nyland in the three league games that he played so far, has let in eight goals and has one clean sheet to his name.
The Norwegian custodian who played half of Villa’s matches last season had done a decent job between the sticks, keeping six clean sheets from the 23 matches that he played.
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Verdict
At the moment, the club as such faces an uncertain future as to whether it will play in the top-flight next season. Moreover, the goalkeeper conundrum also persists on top of this. At such a juncture, offloading the experienced Nyland seems like a really unnecessary move. Hence, Villa should hold onto their keeper as it is the safest bet at the moment.
