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Aston Villa are on a lookout for reinforcements now that they have clawed their way back to the Premier League. One of the areas Dean Smith is keen on improving is the backline, and the Sun reports he has found his target in Southampton’s left-back Matt Targett. Villa are reportedly ready to table a £10m offer to the Saints in order to secure their man this summer. However, looking strictly at the quality and the numbers of Targett, Villa should tread carefully because he might not be the perfect choice to strengthen their squad. With all of that in mind, here are two main reasons why Aston Villa should not go for him at all.
Targett doesn’t bring much to the table
Even though he is still only 23-years-old, Targett is still pretty much far from what a Premier League defender should look like. Even at Southampton, he was a second-choice left-back for the majority of the season, as the Saints preferred Ryan Bertrand, leaving Targett with only 16 appearances to his name throughout the campaign. When he did get the chance to play, this young defender didn’t really shine despite scoring once and assisting a further three along the way.
Southampton as a team conceded a total of 65 goals which makes them one of the more defensively liable teams in the Premier League. Even at a team that doesn’t really boast great defensive records or players, for that matter, Targett couldn’t win a spot in the starting line up. Sure, the competition is much tougher here than it is in the Championship where Aston Villa used to play, but now that they are returning once again, they will need something much better than that.
It’s money better spent in other areas
Looking strictly at the Championship and not focusing on the Premier League for a second, Aston Villa are near the top in most key statistical categories. However, they do seem like a defensively pretty solid team even when compared to the top teams in England as they boast some pretty impressive stats. For example, last season they averaged 19.9 tackles and 10 interceptions per game, which is more than just good. Of course, with the competition in the Premier League being a level higher, this could see a potential drop come next season but defence should not be their biggest worry.
If they are intent on setting out into the market this summer once again after a couple of deals already done, maybe they should focus on some other areas further up the pitch or find targets who are more of a reflection of the quality they need to stay up. The season is going to be long and difficult for the (old) newcomers and they should strengthen accordingly.
