Aston Villa opened their account in the Premier League for 2025 with a 2-1 victory over Leicester City, which would have been a welcome result come full-time after drawing their final clash of 2024 in the league.
But, the game would have felt far nervier for the Villans fans watching on when you consider their side’s leakiness reared its ugly head once more, having conceded to a Foxes team who had just two shots on target all afternoon and are lingering near the foot of the division.
Therefore, Emery must surely be using this January transfer window as a way to bolster his options defensively, with this high profile loan signing now rumoured.
Aston Villa enquire about wantaway defender
As per a report by French outlet L’Equipe, Villa have now enquired about signing wantaway Paris St. Germain centre-back Milan Skriniar this month on loan, with the Slovakian defender wanting to leave PSG due to a lack of first-team chances.
Villa are joined by Tottenham Hotspur in their pursuit of the ex-Inter Milan brute according to the report, as Ange Postecoglou attempts to solve his side’s own defensive woes, with Skriniar reportedly keen on playing in the Premier League in the near future away from the French capital.
There will also likely be an option for Emery’s men to make the deal permanent, with a hope that the 6 foot 2 star could be another loan success for Villa away from a major titan like Philippe Coutinho proved to be, before falling down the pecking order in the West Midlands when he joined the club for good from Barcelona.
Why Skriniar could be Coutinho 2.0
Obviously, in the minds of Villa fans now, the deal to bring in the Brazilian attacking midfielder was a major flop, considering the expensive 32-year-old has since been discarded to Vasco De Gama on loan.
But, once upon a time, the ex-Liverpool man was a loved figure by all at Villa Park, with five goals and three assists picked up during his debut campaign after arriving from Barcelona on an initial temporary deal in January 2022.
With hindsight now very much on their side, the Villans might not have subsequently forked out £17m though, with Coutinho only managing one more goal contribution since.
Emery will just pray that Skriniar can come in and be similarly impactful in the short-term – away from worrying about issues regarding tieing him down to a permanent stay – with Villa in dire need of more resolute bodies defensively with Pau Torres now sidelined and their record at the back this season not being particularly rosy.
Position/club
Goals conceded
1. Liverpool
19
2. Arsenal
18
3. Nottingham Forest
19
4. Chelsea
24
5. Newcastle United
22
6. Manchester City
27
7. AFC Bournemouth
23
8. Aston Villa
32
9. Fulham
27
10. Brighton and Hove Albion
29
Sourced by BBC Sport
By three goals more, Villa have conceded the most goals in the current top ten of the Premier League at a worrying 32, with the injury-stricken Torres only keeping two clean sheets from 18 top-flight outings.
Therefore, Skriniar could come to the rescue to help Emery’s men shut up shop more effectively, having actually kept a clean sheet on his last appearance for PSG in Ligue 1 before pushing for a move away.
At the peak of his powers in the Serie A too, Skriniar would make his all defensive hard work look easy, with the 2021/22 season for Inter seeing him average a cool and composed 92% pass accuracy per league contest, whilst also showing off his fierce approach aerially by winning 3.9 duels on average.
Italian football writer Jerry Mancini would even label the Slovak as “incredible” when he was regularly battling away at Inter, with the well-thought-of defender – who journalist Siavoush Fallahi also previously dubbed a “monster” – a presence that could be transformative for a ropey Villa defence.
Of course, this could all prove to be too good to be true much like Coutinho – with the defender’s steep £263k-per-week salary an easy target for concern – but Villa might well deem snapping up this fresh centre-back as a risk worth taking.
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