TBR View: Aston Villa should avoid signing Manchester United man in January

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Manchester United fringe player Jesse Lingard has been linked with a move to Aston Villa in the past, with the Villans reportedly interested ahead of the January transfer window.

According to TEAMtalk, the 28-year-old versatile performer is on the lookout for a new club and Dean Smith has shown an interest.

Aston Villa signed well in the summer window as the club took a refreshing change of tact in the market.

Following promotion, the season previous they adopted a scatter-gun approach of signing several players from European countries.

It nearly backfired and they only maintained their Premier League status on the final day of the season.

The summer was different though. Matty Cash arrived from Nottingham Forest, Ollie Watkins checked in from Brentford, Emi Martinez from Arsenal and Ross Barkley on loan from Chelsea.

The approach of signing hungry players with a point to prove has been a solid move, with Villa 11th in the table.

Despite that, the West Midlanders should steer well clear of signing Lingard during January.

The United man has shown glimpses during his career of what he is capable of but they’ve been all too infrequent.

He hasn’t featured in a Premier League game since the last day of the 2019/20 campaign. During that game, he registered his only goal contribution in 22 league outings for the season.

Some might point to the fact that he could have a similar impact on Villa as Barkley has since arriving from Chelsea.

The midfielder is a year younger than Lingard but has proved a hit at Villa Park, despite picking up an injury.

Lingard just doesn’t do it often enough and on £75,000-a-week he simply isn’t worth the risk.

Smith should prepare to look elsewhere.