Dean Smith has warmed to the idea of signing a striker in the winter transfer window as Wesley Moraes’ return from injury may not be so swift in 2021, and Birmingham Live stated that signing Josh King ‘makes practical sense’ as his future at Bournemouth is up in the air.
A few weeks ago, the Norwegian said: “It is a bit special to be a football player who has nine months left on his contract. We’ll see if I go now or in January.” Those words suggest that he could be open to leaving the Championship outfit.
The 28-year-old has made 175 appearances in all competitions for the Cherries, scoring 50 goals and supplying 17 assists, but his time at Dean Court may be coming to an end. King is out of contract in 2021 and went public with his desire to leave when Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League, so a move away could well be on the cards.
Until Wesley returns, Villa have Ollie Watkins, Bertrand Traore and Keinan Davis at their disposal, but Watkins is the only natural striker who is making a discernible impact for Smith’s side this season.
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The 24-year-old has scored eight goals in 12 games under Smith, but Traore (nine games, 303 minutes, one goal, one assist) and Davis (four games, 207 minutes, one goal, one assist) have fallen short. Therefore, it’s not hard to see why the manager might want to add more firepower next month.
King’s market value with Transfermarkt is £11.7m, but his contract is up next summer, so Villa could land him on the cheap as Bournemouth likely won’t want to lose him on a free transfer at the end of the season.
In other news, one Aston Villa-linked player could be tempted into a Premier League move.
