Unai Emery has enjoyed a solid start to life as Aston Villa manager, with the club winning two out of three Premier League games before the World Cup break and building some confidence ahead of a crucial second half of the campaign.
There are still a few issues to fix, though, most notably in defence and attack. Villa have conceded 22 goals in the league, while scoring only 16 hasn’t helped their cause either when it comes to securing victories, and the Spaniard will surely be eyeing the January transfer market in order to strengthen his squad.
According to The Mirror, Emery is eyeing up a reunion with Villarreal forward Arnaut Danjuma in the winter, and this could give the manager the scope to ditch Ollie Watkins, who has underperformed this season.
Signed for £28m from Brentford in 2020, the striker has scored just 30 goals for Villa in that period. The current campaign has been the most disappointing of the lot, as he has netted only two goals from 14 league appearances.
This is an area which urgently requires some improvement if Villa are to challenge for a finish in the top half of the table, and a move for Danjuma makes perfect sense.
The £52k-per-week Dutchman has scored just four goals this season, although he missed the start of the campaign due to injury.
Danjuma has been dubbed a “nightmare for defenders” by Kevin Phillips in the past, and if he comes to Villa, Emery would surely be able to bring him back up to speed and allow him to rediscover the form that he showed last season.
His form last season was excellent under Emery, with the 25-year-old registering 20 goal contributions (16 goals and four assists), and he proved his importance to the team by ranking first with 13 league goals and assists, big chances missed (11) and fourth for successful dribbles per match (1.4).
It may be slightly harsh on Watkins, who was a regular starter under Steven Gerrard. However, it looks like Emery is looking to assert his own authority on the team, and by signing Danjuma, in turn he could boldly ditch the 26-year-old English marksman.