Keinan Davis was linked with a move away from Aston Villa earlier in January but the club weren’t going to make a decision until the end of the transfer window. Monday is deadline day, however, and Bristol Live reported that Bristol City want the 22-year-old, so Villa now have a choice to make.
Davis has struggled for form and playing time this season, but he’s the only centre-forward backup to Ollie Watkins as Wesley Moraes is still recovering from a serious knee injury, so Villa can’t afford to let him go unless they have a replacement lined up.
Earlier this month, this writer put forward the view that Louie Barry deserves another chance to prove himself at senior level after his FA Cup heroics against Liverpool, but Dean Smith has so far resisted any possible temptation to call on him again. With only four days remaining of the window, it doesn’t seem likely that a new striker is coming to Villa Park, so Davis might have to stay put for now.
Bristol City are eighth in the Championship and three points adrift of the playoffs, but they’re 14th in the table for goals scored and don’t have a striker with more than six league goals after 25 games, so they are desperate for another centre-forward to turbo-charge their promotion push.
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While Bristol Live claimed that Robins manager Dean Holden has a strong relationship with his Villa counterpart Smith, it may not boost his hopes of landing Davis’ signature as the Premier League side can’t really afford to offload him.
Therefore, Holden may have to turn his attention elsewhere if he wants to add to the attacking ranks at Ashton Gate.
