Aston Villa and Steve Bruce’s attention is turning to moving players away from Villa Park ahead of the Sky Bet Championship season, according to the Birmingham Mail.
Bruce has been active in this summer’s transfer market, bringing five new faces to Villa Park already.
Sam Johnstone has returned to Villa on a season-long loan form Manchester United, whilst free agents, John Terry and Christopher Samba, have been added to bolster defensive options.
Glenn Whelan has also arrived from Stoke City, whilst the versatile Ahmed Elmohamady is another new addition.
Bruce will now begin to clear players out, as Villa look to balance their books to avoid Financial Fair Play punishments.
Jordan Veretout has been the latest player out of the exit door this summer, with Villa selling the midfielder to Fiorentina earlier this week.
There looks to be more players set to follow Veretout in the coming weeks, with Ross McCormack reportedly in talks with Sunderland over a possible loan move to the Stadium of Light, after a frustrating 12-months with Villa.
Tommy Elphick is another of Villa’s players attracting interest from across the Championship, with Sunderland also interested in signing the defender who has been pushed further down the pecking order following the arrival of Terry and Samba.
The Verdict
It will be interesting to see how Villa react next season in the Championship, particularly after flopping last year and only finishing 13th. Bruce’s summer recruitment so far has been good, especially with the manager working on a budget regards to transfer fees.
Despite Villa’s need to move players away from Villa Park due to FFP, Bruce probably feels the need to trim down his squad ahead of the new season anyway. McCormack would be competing with Jonathan Kodjia, Scott Hogan and Gabby Agbonlahor, whilst Elphick finds himself behind a number of impressive options in central defence.
It is no surprise to see Villa looking to move players on, as we have been expecting it all summer.
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