da roleta： Aston Villa could already be weighing up their options for the January transfer window, as Unai Emery hopes to keep his squad pushing up the table throughout the season ahead.
da prosport bet： The Spaniard has guided his side to just two points outside the top four in the Premier League table, sitting in fifth after 11 games played.
In the summer, the Villans added to the success of their 2022/23 campaign, welcoming five new faces of impressive calibre to bolster the scene at Villa Park, however it’s expected that further reinforcements will be added this winter.
Considering that Emery has only been in charge of Villa for just over a year, the former Arsenal boss is far from finished in his bid to make the squad his own, with plenty of changes left to be made.
As the January window fast approaches, the Midlands club has already been linked to a host of talent, from failed summer targets to fresh targets that have been identified as those that could take the side to further strengths.
Aston Villa's January transfer targets
Despite orchestrating an impressive summer of business, Emery and Monchi were unable to deliver every target, with two names mentioned with reference to the January market being those linked to Villa earlier this year.
Real Madrid outsider Dani Ceballos has been a rumoured target of Villa’s for over a year, with Spanish outlet DefensaCentral claiming that in January the Villans could offer Los Blancos between €15m-€18m for their midfielder.
Elsewhere in Spain, Athletic Club winger Nico Williams was also rumoured to be of interest to Emery in the summer, yet the forward remained in Bilbao.
In a refreshed update, reports in Spain relayed by Sport Witness claimed that Villa will have a chance to sign the 21-year-old in the New Year, as debates over his contract at his boyhood club are still awaiting a conclusion.
With a release clause of €50m (£44m), the Villans could opt to spend big once more, although another target with a lesser price tag may be the favoured article for Emery to chase.
According to a report from TEAMtalk last month, Villa are among the clubs interested in Galatasaray winger Kerem Akturkoglu, who was said to be valued by the Lions at €20m (£17m) when Arsenal were linked to the 25-year-old in 2022.
The report claims that as many as six Premier League clubs are eyeing the in-form forward, with Villa one of those that have ‘checked in’ on the potential future movements of the Turkey international.
Kerem Akturkoglu’s playing style
Deployed primarily on the left wing, Akturkoglu is a versatile forward, with the ability to play centrally as both a striker and playing behind the striker when called upon.
Lauded as “unstoppable” for his form last season by U23 scout Antonio Mango, the winger is a tireless source of direct play in the wide channels, as highlighted by a scouting report sourced by The Scouting App.
Described as using his 'oriented control and dribbling abilities' to deceive and trouble the opposition, the playmaker is the epitome of what is expected of a traditional wide player.
Lauded for his 'physical strength and stamina', the Galatasaray dynamo also boasts electric speed to boot, as highlighted by his top speed of 34 km/h recorded in the Champions League this season.
The Scouting App described the forward as a 'difficult element to contain' when he reaches top speed, making him a particularly interesting target for Villa, who place emphasis on building play from the wide channels.
How Kerem Akturkoglu compares to Premier League wingers
It’s one thing to showcase attributes that could deem Akturkoglu a strong signing for Villa, however, the most important question is how could the Turkish forward fare in the Premier League.
Kerem Akturkoglu
Dejan Kulusevski
Bukayo Saka
Jeremy Doku
Mohamed Salah
11
11
10
8
11
3
3
4
2
8
4
0
3
5
4
3.2
2.1
2.4
1.9
2.4
0.7
1.5
1.6
3.4
0.8
1.0
0.6
0.9
0.6
1.4
As portrayed in the table above, the 25-year-old has had a similar start to the season to some of the wingers on show in the top four clubs in the Premier League, suggesting the calibre of the Galatasaray ace’s talents.
Most notable is that the Turk tops the charts out of the selected list for his average of key passes per game, reinforcing his creative spark and the other dimension he could add to Villa’s attack aside from direct wing play.
Another notable strength of the reported Villa target’s game is his contribution in the final third, with Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka from the list prevailing as the only wingers to claim more goals and assists than the Turk in the league last season.
With nine goals and 11 assists last term, Akturkoglu secured more direct goal contributions than any Villa player minus Watkins, who recorded 21 goal involvements to the Super Lig winner’s 20 in 2022/23.
The stats that show Kerem Akturkoglu would be a good signing for Villa
Despite welcoming Moussa Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo to the fold in the summer, Villa have additional work to do to refurbish their attacking options, with a host of players underperforming and with little claim to the first team.
One player who could be replaced by Akturkoglu is Bertrand Traore, who has failed to impose himself in Emery’s squad after his impressive 2020/21 campaign during his debut season for the Villans.
Another winger who has failed to make a strong impact of late is Emiliano Buendia, who could see his role in the squad brutally axed if another player in his position is introduced in January.
After suffering a devastating injury during a training session before the start of the season, the Argentine has been denied the chance to finally show his worth at Villa Park following his arrival in 2021.
Things haven’t worked as expected for the 26-year-old at Villa, and to put into perspective how much of an impact Akturkoglu could make in his absence, the £17m man recorded more goal contributions last season than Buendia has since 2021 for Villa.
The former Norwich City phenomenon has scored just nine goals and recorded only nine assists since his arrival at Villa Park, and with his form showing little improvement, a new arrival could just knock the £75k-per-week gem off his perch.
Emi Buendia
Kerem Akturkoglu
38
34
5
9
2
11
1.1
2.3
0.7
1.5
As highlighted in the table above, the highs of Akturkoglu’s averages went far beyond topping the Argentine for goal contributions, with his playmaking and on-ball efforts far greater than those presented by Buendia last term.
Emery could widen his side’s options by signing the highly-rated Turkey international, as well as being left with the decision of whether to axe Buendia, who has failed to live up to expectations so far in the Premier League – even prior to his current injury absence.