Aston Villa’s summer spending appears to be far from over as the club have reportedly submitted a £20m for Hull City striker Abel Hernandez.
It’s been a busy summer at Villa Park, with new owner Tony Xia and manager Roberto Di Matteo bringing in seven new faces after their relegation from the Premier League last season.
As they rebuild, identify and address weaknesses in the squad, it appears as though they have one last role to fill and and according to Sky Sports, Hernandez is the man to fill it.
The Uruguayan international was key for the Tigers last season, as he scored 22 goals in the Championship to fire them to promotion.
Although the club are naturally keen to keep him, they could now be tempted into using the funds from his sale to bolster the squad overall with moves for Will Keane and Jonathan Kodija being touted by Sky Sports.
Further, they could also look to strengthen their midfield with the signings of Jeff Hendrick and Ryan Mason, and if that is all true, then they’ll need finances from somewhere to fund that recruitment drive.
That might now come courtesy of Villa, who have already signed Pierluigi Gollini, James Chester, Tommy Elphick, Ritchie De Laet, Aaron Tshibola, Mile Jedinak and Ross McCormack this summer.
It hasn’t been the most positive of starts for the West Midlands giants though, as they have picked up just one win from their opening five Championship games.
One of the problems behind that is a lack of a prolific striker up front to take the chances being created by the team. Hernandez would certainly address that issue, but now it remains to be seen as to whether or not Villa’s sizeable offer is accepted by Hull and talks can then proceed.
Di Matteo and Xia have received plenty of praise for their moves in the transfer market this summer, and although it’s a huge fee, they’re evidently looking at players familiar with the Championship and with experience of being successful in the second tier to ensure that they seal immediate promotion back to the Premier League.