Aston Villa had a sound January, with Dean Smith addressing a number of problems during his first transfer window at Villa Park.
The club’s spending was measured and certain targets were met – Lovre Kalinic is an upgrade on Orjan Nyland, whilst Kortney Hause and Tyrone Mings are solid defensive additions and Tom Carroll is a classy midfielder.
Of course, Smith might have wanted more, but Villa’s financial situation has changed and there was no repeat of the circus of January 2017, when Steve Bruce threw the kitchen sink at Villa’s squad.
One man who arrived during that eventful January two years ago was James Bree, a man who is now on Ipswich Town’s books, with the Portman Road loanee recently admitting he hadn’t progressed how he might’ve liked at Villa Park.
Bree, 21, cost Villa a reported £3m, but he’s made only 21 appearances in the Championship in 24 months.
Whilst his frustration at that spell is understandable, he might be starting to recognise he was part of a flawed transfer policy at Villa Park, with little of Bruce’s business around that time paying off.
Bree arrived alongside Conor Hourihane from Barnsley, and whilst their two spells with Villa have gone in different directions, a number of other arrivals at that time have flopped.
Scott Hogan, who cost Villa £12m late in the window, is now on loan with Sheffield United after a difficult two years, whilst those that remain aren’t hitting the heights of Hourihane.
Neil Taylor and Birkir Bjarnason both play, but aren’t convincing, whilst Henri Lansbury’s spell has gone no better than Hogan’s or Bree’s.
For Bree, at 21, you have to be aware of what that spell at Villa might’ve done to his confidence, but the player must look at the turbulent time he entered the club and what has happened to those that arrived alongside him in January 2017.
He was simply part of a Bruce’s game of Blackjack, the ex-Villa manager took a gamble on his squad and it went bust. Bree must use his time with Ipswich to impress and return to Villa Park under the measured Dean Smith.