"A massive risk" - Watford eye Aston Villa agreement: The verdict | OneFootball

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This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Watford are in talks with Premier League side Aston Villa over a loan deal for striker Wesley, as reported by Simon Jones on the Daily Mail Transfer Confidential column.

The Brazilian striker joined Villa in 2019 from Club Brugge in a deal worth around £22 million. However, his spell at Villa Park hasn’t been as successful as he would have liked.

A long-term injury and poor form saw him lose his place in the squad, and he therefore spent the last three seasons on loan at three different teams.

Meanwhile, Watford looks to be in the market for a new attacking addition, with Ismaila Sarr leaving for Marseille, meaning they are short in that area of the pitch.

Would Wesley be a good signing for Watford?

Some of the writers at Football League World have shared their thoughts on Watford’s interest in the Aston Villa striker and whether he would be a good addition for the Hornets.

Here is what they said…

Brett Worthington

Wesley is a player who is trying to rediscover his best form, as his long-term injury has had an impact on his career.

The 26-year-old has scored goals previously in his career and, although they have dried up in the last couple of seasons, Wesley fits the profile of a striker Valerien Ismael likes to have in his squad.

The forward is a physical presence, he will occupy defenders, and while Ismael would hope he’d find his scoring boots, his ability to bring others into play will be a big part of his game.

The Hornets are very light at the top end of the pitch now, with not many senior players as options.

Wesley’s time at Aston Villa hasn’t been as successful as he would have liked, and his loan spells away from the club haven’t improved things.

But he showed enough qualities for the Premier League side to spend £22 million on him in 2019. So, it may be that the forward just needs a fresh start and to find a team and manager that he fits into, and that could be at Vicarage Road.

The striker has never played in the Championship before, so he will no doubt have to adapt, but given time, he could really flourish under a manager like Valerien Ismael.

Alfie Burns

Wesley does fit the physical profile of striker that Valerien Ismael likes to have spearheading his side. There are similarities to the Aston Villa striker and, say, Daryl Dike in the way they occupy defenders and cause defences numerous problems with their physicality.

However, with this one, I just can't help but get away from Wesley's recent goalscoring record.

Last season in the Spanish second-tier, he scored three goals and assisted three more in 39 appearances for Levante. Whilst you can appreciate the 26-year-old putting a couple of tough seasons behind him, it's not exactly a record that would fill Watford fans with confidence of him firing them into the top-six.

Since his move to Aston Villa, Wesley's reputation has been fading fast and he looks like a shadow of the player that struck 24 league goals between 2017 and 2019 for Club Brugge prior to arriving at Villa Park.

Despite his profile fitting that of a typical Ismael striker, it just feels a massive risk for Watford to be signing Wesley with the hope he's the man to get them in top-six contention. On his day he might be that, but his 'day' feels like a distant memory now.