Smith reuniting with Barbet in January would be welcome Aston Villa defensive boost

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Steve Bruce left Dean Smith an Aston Villa squad packed with attacking flair but short on defensive depth, so perhaps tightening up at the back will be the key to the former Brentford manager guiding his boyhood club to promotion out of the Championship.

Villa’s financial situation is still unclear and plenty has been invested in the squad in pursuit of a return to the big time but Smith will hope the be awarded something in the way of a transfer kitty during the January window with which to reinforce his defence.

He can ill afford any more expensive gambles, so it would be no surprise if his port of call was Griffin Park, looking to engineer a reunion with members of the Bees squad that performed so well under his stewardship.

Football Insider reported this month that Yoann Barbet is the subject of Smith’s interest as he seeks to put together a squad which is capable of hauling Villa out of the second tier.

The versatile defender would offer Smith a huge boost in terms of his defensive options, which are so bleak right now that Micah Richards has trained with the first team again with a view to potentially reintegrating him down the line.

Smith knows what Barbet can bring, which should ease fears that he would struggle to settle mid-season and allow him to make an immediate contribution.