Why Aston Villa must forget about Domagoj Vida and rely on Hause
The January window is just around the corner and Aston Villa are lining up a potential move for Domagoj Vida, according to Turkish Football (h/t Birmingham Live).
Although Villa brought in 12 players in the summer, Dean Smith must make contingency plans as far as their defence is concerned.
Vida joined Besiktas in 2018, following his part in Croatia’s run to the World Cup final. And Villa need defensive reinforcements, especially due to the injury suffered by first-choice centre-back Tyrone Mings during the Leicester City game last weekend.
A recently capped England international, Mings picked up a hamstring injury in the 23rd minute of the clash on Sunday afternoon and was replaced by Bjorn Engels.
Meanwhile, Vida, 30, has collected 79 international caps and was part of a World Cup final. The battle-scarred Croatian is capable of throwing his body on the line to preserve a clean sheet and he would work wonders for Aston Villa, who are one of the relegation-threatened sides.
Villa are above the drop zone on goal difference alone and Sunday’s 4-1 home defeat to Leicester City once again exposed a vulnerable underbelly that threatens to undermine their forward-thinking style.
Vida has another three-years remaining on his contract and has been in great form for Besiktas this term, scoring twice in 12 league games. The powerful defender has played an important role in the Black Eagles’ victories in six successive games.
Smith has played almost every game with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa ahead of Björn Engels. That said, it must be noted that signing Vida would restrict Kortney Hause even further. After all, despite joining for a reported £3m (h/t BBC), his game time has been severely limited.
But since Mings went off injured in the defeat to Leicester, Hause now has a chance to prove his mettle. So far, he has been placed firmly behind Mings, Konsa and Engels in the pecking order.
Engels and Mings started at the back in the initial few game weeks but Konsa has managed to usurp the former lately.
Hause, 23, spent last season on loan at Villa, making 12 appearances in the Championship before they were promoted via the play-offs. The former Wycombe Wanderers defender has represented England at Under-20 and Under-21 levels.
Hause, who can play either at centre-back or left-back, made a handful of appearances in 2018/19 and scored one goal. He came on as a substitute in their playoff final win over Derby County at Wembley Stadium.
He began his career at Wycombe and headed for Wolves as an 18-year-old, making 80 appearances on either side of a loan spell at Gillingham.
Hause proved to be a huge hit in the heart of Villa’s defence the last term and was also used as a makeshift left-back. He was under contract with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side until 2021 but Villa were able to trigger a clause to secure his services permanently.
Vida, on the other hand, is an out-and-out defender – but with versatility. Standing tall at a height of 6ft, he wins more than his fair share of headers. He is competent across the backline and has been utilized at both right-back and centre-back during his career.
Verdict
Vida is a fantastic defender but in Hause, they have a versatile defender. The former Bayer Leverkusen and Dinamo Zagreb powerhouse would surely bring invaluable experience and a fierce winning mentality to Aston Villa but Dean Smith should stick to his summer signing.
