Aston Villa’s captain Ron Vlaar could make a return to Premier League football this weekend against Chelsea. Whilst the Dutchmen’s comeback hasn’t been widely reported, the Guardian have stated “Ron Vlaar’s return from injury will boost an Aston Villa defence which conceded five at Arsenal on Sunday”. Vlaar is still a major doubt for Saturday’s contest however, as he has only just recovered from a knee injury which kept him sidelined for 6 weeks. It is likely Villa’s number four will be a part of the squad this weekend, but won’t feature.
Should Vlaar walk straight back into the starting eleven? Prior to last weekend’s awful display at the Emirates, the defensive partnership of Jores Okore and Ciaran Clark looked to be a winning formula for Paul Lambert. Along with Alan Hutton and Aly Cissokho, the pair performed solidly for the majority of January. Towards the end of the month, fans were beginning to question Vlaar’s place in the starting eleven. Many also began to wonder why Jores Okore had been left out of the first team for such a long period of time. However, the defensive predicament appears have taken a rather large diversion in the past couple of weeks. Poor defensive performances against Liverpool and Arsenal now have the Villa faithful pleading for Vlaar’s return.
It could be argued that the Villa skipper’s set-back was a saving grace for the supporters, as he could well have signed for another club in the recent transfer window. Vlaar was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United, but news of a recurring knee injury destroyed any chances of a deal being made. Ron Vlaar is out of contract this summer. Therefore, a departure is still very much on the cards.
Ron Vlaar is a superb defender on his day. He is prone to making the odd-mistake, mainly because of his lack of agility and pace. Nevertheless, the former Feyenoord man commands his defensive unit and team with great authority. He is without doubt our best defender. But in the absence of their leader, Okore and Clark have being able to establish themselves in the Villa starting line-up. So, would it be right for Vlaar to stroll back into the back-four?
