Why Aston Villa should take a gamble on Oumar Niasse in January

Aston Villa legend Ian Taylor has told the Express that he wants Dean Smith to sign another back-up striker in the January transfer window.

After achieving promotion from the Championship, the Villans broke their transfer record in the summer by signing Wesley Moraes from Club Brugge. Wesley Moraes’ addition meant Dean Smith now had three strikers, the other two being Jonathan Kodjia and Keinan Davis.

Kodjia has never been a prolific goalscorer in his career, while Davis is just 21 and cannot be burdened with leading the team’s attack on a regular basis. If anything happens to Wesley, Kodjia or Davis, Aston Villa will be in deep trouble.

With that in mind, Ian Taylor is right regarding Villa needing a back-up striker and Smith should go all out to sign one in January.

Oumar Niasse in action for Everton. (Getty Images)

Back in January 2016, the Birmingham Mail had claimed that Villa were interested in signing Oumar Niasse, who then was plying his trade for Lokomotiv Moscow. However, a deal didn’t go through and he went onto join Everton instead.

Oumar Niasse, 29, has played just 39 times for Everton since arriving at the club in February 2016. The Senegalese is yet to feature for the Toffees this season, with Marco Silva completely freezing him out of the first-team picture. In fact, he currently finds himself playing for the club’s U23 side in the Premier League 2.

The 29-year-old has spent time on loan at Hull City and Cardiff City in the Premier League over the course of his ill-fated spell at Goodison Park. With Niasse desperately in need of playing time to revive his career, Aston Villa must reignite their interest in him during the January transfer window.

Currently placed 17th in the table after accumulating three wins from their first 12 league fixtures, it is clear that Villa need to find a way to improve in the coming months if they are to preserve their Premier League status.

Reinforcing the striking department is an absolute must, with Wesley scoring only four goals in 12 games.

Oumar Niasse enjoyed a productive loan spell at Hull City from Everton. (Getty Images)

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Thus, another option could boost Villa’s firepower and Niasse would be a gamble worth taking. Niasse has never really been afforded a consistent run of games at Everton to prove his worth but he has shown his pedigree in glimpses.

The Senegalese has the quality and experience to make an instant impact at the Villa Park, whilst competing with the likes of Wesley, Kodjia and Davis.

Verdict

On a loan deal, Niasse’s acquisition would make sense for Villa.