Aston Villa must strengthen their squad and sign Rico Henry in January
According to the Express & Star, Championship side Aston Villa will be looking to strengthen squad once the January transfer window gets underway. Villa have seen an upturn in results since appointing Dean Smith as manager in mid-season following the sacking of Steve Bruce.
In fact, his presence has revived Villa’s promotion chances at a crucial time in the season. As per the report, however, a goalkeeper and a centre-back and left-back are understood to be among Smith’s top priorities in the winter window. This makes sense from a tactical point of view.
A genuine promotion-challenging club cannot afford to have a backline as leaky as Villa’s. No other club in the top half of the Championship table has conceded as many goals as them. Smith needs to bring a new left-back to the Midlands outfit and Rico Henry is an ideal fit. The 47-year-old manager knows Henry well, having worked with left-back at Walsall and Brentford. A reunion manager and his trusted lieutenant at Aston Villa could be on the cards.
Considering that 34-year-old Alan Hutton played most of last season – and has already played 10 games this season – out of position as a left-back, it is safe to suggest that Smith needs to rectify this problem in January.
The 21-year-old Henry is back from a long-term knee injury that saw him miss a large part of last season. The former England U20 has already made four appearances this season. He made his return as a substitute against Middlesbrough, the side he was playing against when he picked up the injury.
The highly-rated Rico Henry is tough on the tackle. He is always willing to throw himself into the ball’s path to make vital blocks. The young defender can dribble his way out of tight spaces. It was the West Brom-born boss who gave Henry his breakthrough in the League One with Walsall.
Smith brought the left-back to Brentford in 2016 for a fee of £1.5 million. Henry has often been compared to legendary Three Lions left-back Ashley Cole which highlights his potential. At 21, the Birmingham-born defender has his best years ahead of him provided he can keep fit.
Henry has struggled with injuries since moving to Griffin Park. He is tied to Brentford until the summer of 2021. But after losing their manager to Villa, it will be interesting to see if the Bees would be willing to sell their left-back too.
