Aston Villa are reportedly poised to sign three new players in the coming weeks as Roberto Di Matteo looks to bolster his squad significantly.
The Italian coach has seen his side fall to back-to-back defeats to start the campaign, losing away at Sheffield Wednesday in their Championship opener before being dumped out of the EFL Cup by Luton Town on Wednesday night.
In turn, it has sparked perhaps a bit of panic but necessary action as the club look to bring in more new faces to improve the squad.
Di Matteo has already signed Pierluigi Gollini, Tommy Elphick, Aaron Tshibola and Ross McCormack this summer, but it’s evident from the first two showings that Villa need much more.
According to The Sun, owner Tony Xia is ready to ditch several members of the current squad in favour of fresh faces, with James Chester, Ritchie de Laet and Mile Jedinak on his shortlist.
Chester appears likely to be the first through the entrance door at Villa Park after a bid of around £6m was accepted by West Bromwich Albion, as noted by The Sun, while De Laet’s move is also ‘near completion’ in a move worth £2.5m.
Both Chester and De Laet will be seen as key figures in shoring up what has been an embarrassing backline for Villa for the most part over the last 12 months, while the game against Luton showed that they also desperately need some steel in midfield.
That could be provided by Jedinak, although the report claims that move is the furthest away from happening at this stage, although the suggestion is that a deal will be reached between Villa and Crystal Palace eventually.
Di Matteo was arguably slightly naive in believing that the players from last season had more to offer him after a fresh start at the club, but it hasn’t taken long for both the former Chelsea boss and owner Xia to realise that drastic action is needed before the deadline.