BonusCodeBets had the pleasure of catching up with former Aston Villa striker and Wrexham manager Dean Saunders, who shared his thoughts on rumours linking Villa with activity in the upcoming transfer window. He also delved into his thoughts on the current situation at Chelsea and discussed whether Aston Villa could capitalise on their bloated squad.
In this article:
- You Can Never Have Too Many Strikers
- The Return Of 4-4-2
- Saunders Lavishes Praise on Jhon Duran
- Villa need to enjoy the season
- Villa should avoid signing Manchester United players
- Could Elliott and Jones be set for moves to Villa Park?
- Chelsea’s Overflowing Talent Pool
- A Bargain from Stamford Bridge?
You Can Never Have Too Many Strikers
Despite a fine start to the season which last week culminated in an inspiring 1-0 over Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and possessing two of the world most on fire strikers in Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran it appears as though there’s no slowing down for Aston Villa. According to reports, Aston Villa are looking to bring in Marcus Thuram from Inter Milan, as are fellow Premier League rivals Tottenham. Saunders discussed whether he would be a good fit at Villa and also if they could beat Spurs for his services. He also shared his thoughts on whether having Watkins, Duran and Thuram could be overkill in the striker department.
“You can never have enough strikers. You look at England now with Harry Kane, and then you start thinking, it’s Ollie Watkins next and then Dominic Solanke.”
“When you think back, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole, Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Peter Beardsley, Gary Lineker. For my country, we can’t name strikers. The Republic of Ireland can’t name strikers.”
“Because of the way teams are playing now, the systems, they’re playing 4-3-3 more or less, with one striker down the middle. The partnership of two strikers has gone out of football really.”
The Return Of 4-4-2
One saying you hear often in football is that tactics and formations go around in cycles and you’re never too far removed from something making a return. One of the recent tactical resurgences we’ve seen in the Premier League has been a variant of the old school 4–4-2 which Saunders claims is well on its way to making a complete comeback.
“It’s coming back. Both teams played 4-4-2 in the World Cup final. Arsenal are playing 4-4-2 in tough games. There’s different types of 4-4-2. You got Alex Ferguson’s type where he had Giggs and Beckham on the wings and Cole and Yorke down the middle. Then you had Giovanni Trapattoni who’d use it as a defensive formation, where they would play narrow, tight with four midfield players, two strikers dropping back in. It will come back around again because it goes in cycles.”
“And that’s the worry for all teams now – where is our next striker?”
Villa need to to enjoy the season
One of the concerns with Aston Villa is their squad depth and ability to balance both their European and domestic campaigns. The argument normally is one has to be sacrificed for the other when first entering the European stage but Saunders believes Villa should just embrace all their challenges head on and enjoy the moment.
“This season is a test for Villa. People keep asking me what you think they should prioritise – finishing in the top four in the league or the Champions League. I think they should go for everything. Just enjoy the season. Every game that comes by, try and win it. And if you run out of players, or if you run out of results because you don’t have enough players, then you learn from it for next year and maybe strengthen again.”
“Right now Villa is a good place to be.”
Villa should avoid signing Manchester United players
The future of Villa’s Diego Carlos had been a topic amongst fans this summer as it appeared he was heading out of the exit door. Carlos was signed by Emery’s predecessor Steven Gerrard. At the time it was viewed as a great signing for the club. After a positive start at the club the performances haven’t lived up to the billing, and he has lost his place in the side to Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa. Meanwhile, Harry Maguire, who has been linked to Villa in the past, has lost the Manchester United captaincy in recent seasons and is now in and out of the starting eleven. Dean Saunders discussed his career at the Red Devils so far and whether he could be a good signing for Villa.
“I think it’s always difficult for any player, once they leave a club like Man Utd, to go to another club. If it’s not as good as Man Utd, the temptation is there to say – ‘we didn’t do this at United, we never used to do this at United’.”
“Sometimes you can get a player who’s took a battering. Anybody who plays for Man Utd hasn’t got any confidence. I don’t think there’s one player who’s done very well at United, over the last five years. Bruno Fernandes is probably the nearest and he’s not won enough to really say that he’s been a total success.”
Saunders is of the belief that Villa don’t need the residue of the stench currently at United and instead should focus on signing players from teams doing well but struggling for game time.
“If you play for Man Utd you should be one of the best players in the world in your position. They can afford to pay the biggest wages. I don’t want to say punch drunk but Man Utd players over the last five years have been battered from all angles. Confidence, the press, your own self-belief.”
“I don’t know, I think it’s a difficult decision to make for the manager but I would sign players who’ve done well somewhere else.”
Could Elliott and Jones be set for moves to Villa Park?
Two players that Saunders thinks Emery should be eyeing up are Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott. They are two young, highly technical footballers that didn’t always fit into the way that former manager Jurgen Klopp wanted his teams to play due to their stylistic differences. Two highly rated prodigies that are desperate for game time but have found it in short supply since the arrival of manager Arne Slot in the summer.
“I think you’d be better off signing players from Liverpool who’ve been part of a successful outfit, knocking on the door. Liverpool have probably seven or eight players who can play in the forward line. Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, they’re struggling to get a game. If you sign one of them, you’ve got confident players coming out of the Jurgen Klopp era that has been a success.”
“Arthur Cox, my manager at Derby, gave me one bit of advice. He said – ‘When you become a manager, never sign players that haven’t done well somewhere else thinking that you can get more out of them. If you sign players who’ve done well somewhere else, you understand football, they’ll do well for you.’”
“He said that you can’t change players’ characters. You can make them run in a different direction, you can motivate them a little bit but you can’t change a player’s character. We all think we can do it but we can’t.”
Chelsea’s Overflowing Talent Pool
Is it realistic for Aston Villa to sign Curtis Jones or Harvey Elliott? Not as things stand. Both players are still extremely young and are highly rated by the powers that be at Liverpool. However, Saunders has instead found another source for Villa to strengthen their push to greatness in the form of Chelsea.
“It probably isn’t realistic for Villa to sign Curtis Jones or Harvey Elliott but I was trying to give an example. I’m looking at clubs who have really good players who aren’t getting a game.”
“Chelsea, I’ve lost count of how many players they’ve got but they can’t all get in the team. They’re not only the best players in the country they’re from but they’re treated like the best ever from that country. They’ve also been the best players at the clubs they were at.”
“They find it really difficult to sit on the bench for five or six games and not get a game. I’ve been a manager and this is where you start getting issues.”
A Bargain from Stamford Bridge?
The current set up at Chelsea is quite interesting under Head Coach Enzo Maresca. One could argue that Chelsea currently have two different XI’s give or take. The one we see in the Premier League on a weekly basis and then their cup competition side. It’s led to the likes of Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Nicholas Jackson and Levi Colwill starting league games, whilst Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Pedro Neto are featuring in the cup games. Saunders feels as though there could be scope for Villa to pick up some of Chelsea’s squad players who feel as though they should be playing more football.
“It cropped up last week when they played in the League Cup. Nkunku scored a hat-trick. The manager left Nicolas Jackson out of the team, he rested him and then he put Nkunku in who scored three. Then when Chelsea play on Sunday against Brighton, he has to call Nkunku in and say ‘I’m sorry, I’m leaving you out, I’m putting Nicolas Jackson back in’. At that moment, Nkunku knows no matter what I do, I’m not going to start in front of Jackson. With six games in, I can’t see a future at the club.”
“As long as the manager keeps winning games, he’s got a bit of power. They beat Brighton and he can say to Nkunku – ‘we won on Saturday, Jackson’s played well, I can’t play everyone.’”
“But if you lose two or three, players in that Chelsea dressing room all start getting a voice. That’s when they turn against you and that’s the problem when you have too many players.”
“So, going back to your point. I’m sure there’s players at Chelsea that you could slide off of that. Arsenal are only paying a third of Raheem Sterling’s wages with Chelsea paying the rest. You probably can get a deal out of Chelsea right now.”
