Aston Villa: Gerrard identifies 'main transfer priority' at Villa Park

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard is looking to bring a “traditional eight” to the club this transfer window, according to Dean Jones.

The Villans have made five signings so far this summer, but it’s thought that the former Rangers manager would like to add another midfielder this summer.

According to the Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece, who was speaking on a fan’s forum on the BirminghamLive website, Villa will be looking to add another midfielder to the squad this season.

In the same forum, he stated that this was partially due to the fact that the club had lost the services of academy graduate Carney Chukwuemeka, who joined Chelsea for a fee in the region of £20m this earlier in August.

However, Preece also stated that Gerrard has been requesting the signing of another midfielder since ‘last month’ and that the club’s search for a midfielder will now ‘accelerate.’

And Jones believes that Gerrard would like another number eight to arrive at Villa Park before the transfer window shuts in September, and that this is now a priority for the club.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “He wants more of a traditional eight coming to the Villa midfield.

“It’s really probably the main position he’s looking at right now, is getting the right midfielder.”

The most substantiated link to a midfielder for Villa this season, seemed to be that of PSV Eindhoven and Ivory Coast international Ibrahim Sangaré, however that transfer seems to be off, following the midfielder’s contract extension at the Eredivisie club this season.

Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was also mooted as a midfield option for Villa this summer, but BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty ended any links in that move, stating that the club would not be making a move to sign the midfielder.