Why Aston Villa should avoid signing Rio Ave striker Mehdi Taremi
According to Sky Sports, Aston Villa are interested in signing Rio Ave striker Mehdi Taremi to bolster their forward options.
The Villans are keen on bolstering their attacking options after losing Wesley Moraes to a cruciate knee ligament injury and selling Jonathan Kodjia to Al Gharafa. Keinan Davies is quite young to lead the attack regularly.
They have signed one striker already, with Mbwana Samatta joining from Belgian outfit KRC Genk earlier this week. However, Dean Smith wants at least another forward before the window closes at the end of the month, the report adds.
Aston Villa are in danger of getting relegated to the Championship. They are currently 16th in the table, just two points above the drop zone. Dean Smith’s side bounced back to winning ways midweek with a 2-1 success over relegation rivals Watford.
However, the Midlands outfit have scored only 31 goals in 24 games, which doesn’t bode well for a side that is fighting against relegation. Thus, Smith wanting to sign another striker after capturing Samatta makes sense but is Mehdi Taremi the right fit for Villa Park?
Mehdi Taremi, 27, is enjoying a decent season in the Portuguese top-flight following a summer switch from Qatari outfit Al Gharafa. He has scored 9 goals and registered 5 assists for Rio Ave so far this season. The forward has represented Iran 38 times, scoring 15 goals on the international stage.
Despite scoring goals in the Portuguese top-flight – and having a proven record with the national team – Taremi would represent a massive risk for the Villans. Samatta’s goalscoring exploits with Genk over the last two seasons paved the way for a transfer to the Premier League but the fact of the matter is that the Tanzanian isn’t a proven performer at the highest level.
And to follow it up with a deal for someone who never played in Europe until last summer would be a gamble for Smith and Villa. To put things plainly, it would represent a risk to have two strikers with absolutely no Premier League experience.
Verdict
Villa are fighting tooth and nail to avoid an immediate return to the Championship. Having already recruited a player like Samatta, Smith would be wise to avoid Taremi and sign a proven Premier League striker to bolster his team’s survival hopes.
