Aston Villa should reconsider reported January target Michael Olise - TBR View

By Dom Toner

If you look at Aston Villa’s results without injured captain Jack Grealish, it’s clear that they could just do with some extra firepower in attack for when he’s not available.

Impressive manager Dean Smith has built a superb squad at Villa Park, but it just needs a few finer details to really elevate them another level.

One man who looked like solving Villa’s problem of an extra attacking option this campaign was Ross Barkley, who is on a season-long loan from Premier League rivals Chelsea.

Unfortunately, his form has fallen off a cliff after a promising start.

With the Chelsea attacking midfielder due to return to Stamford Bridge in the summer, the Midlands club must look to find a replacement.

Someone who could be ideal for them is Reading’s highly-rated talent Michael Olise.

(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)

Olise, who was reportedly on Villa’s transfer radar in the January window (Daily Mirror), could be perfect.

The 19-year-old left-footer has already been linked with the club, and he’s the type of profile that it’s easy to picture him fitting nicely into Smith’s squad of players.

He’s currently making a name for himself in the Championship with Reading, who are a side occupying a play-off position.

He’s a versatile attacker that can work well drifting in from the right to his favoured foot, with his dribbling, pace and trickery a big part of his game.

Alternatively, in a similar way to Barkley, he can slot in as the number 10 creative playmaker.

He’s so pleasing on the eye with his imagination on the ball, and is surely the kind of flair play that would instantly become a big favourite Park.

Olise is only a raw talent at the beginning of his senior career, but he plays with such confidence and has five goals and 10 league assists already this season.

If Villa need any encouragement to target him in the summer, they can look towards how well their striker Ollie Watkins has done in the Premier League since stepping up from the Championship last summer.