As per a report from Spanish outlet El Desmarque, Aston Villa are on the verge of making their second signing of the January transfer window as they close in on the capture of Celta Vigo midfielder Nemanja Radoja.
The Villans have kickstarted the January window by the capture of Croatian goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic, which was confirmed prior to Christmas (h/t BBC Sport). They are now set to follow that up with the second signing of the window, with Radoja poised to agree on a move to Villa Park.
The 25-year-old midfielder came through the youth ranks at Serbian outfit FK Vojvodina and went on to make 69 first-team appearances between 2012 and 2014. In that time, he won a Serbian Cup, before joining Celta Vigo in the summer of 2014.
Since joining the Spanish outfit, Radoja has gone on to make 146 appearances for the club, scoring one goal and setting up five more. However, the midfielder hasn’t featured in a single game in the 2018/19 term.
Aston Villa had a bit of a mixed festive period in the Championship and manager Dean Smith needs a few additions if he is to mastermind a playoff push in the second half of the campaign.
Villa have taken care of the goalkeeping issue by the signing of Kalinic but a new centre-back and another central midfielder would go a long way in helping them in their battle for a playoff finish.
The Villans are stocked with options in the middle of the park, with John McGinn, Conor Hourihane, Henri Lansbury, Birkir Bjarnason, Mile Jedinak and Glenn Whelan.
However, both Jedinak and Whelan are 34 and cannot be expected to play at the top level week in week out. At the same time, Lansbury has been struggling with injury issues. Bjarnason too has spent considerable time on the sidelines, leaving McGinn to shoulder a lot of responsibilities in the middle of the park.
Bringing in someone like Radoja would help Villa add more depth to their squad in a key area. The 25-year-old has the experience of playing at the top level for several years now and has done well for Celta in recent years.
A defensive midfielder by trade, the Serbian possesses the ability to tackle and break up play and also has an impressive range of distribution. What makes him an even more attractive prospect is the fact that he is in the final year of his contract with the La Liga outfit and will be available for a bargain price.
Radoja might not be the most famous names around, but he could prove to be a vital squad player between now and the end of the season for Villa and would be in a position to take over from Jedinak and Whelan in the long-term by the time the next season comes rolling. All in all, the deal has the potential to be quite a beneficial one for the Midlands outfit.
