The Players Aston Villa Need to Sell This Summer
By George Cannon
Aston Villa managed to secure Premier League survival in their first year back in the top flight by the narrowest of margins following their £100m plus spending spree last summer.
It is highly unlikely that Dean Smith will be afforded the same luxury this time around with the coronavirus pandemic tightening everyone's purse strings, so selling their fringe players in order to raise funds may be vital in Villa's bid to stay up.
Keeping hold of star man Jack Grealish could actually be the best piece of transfer business that the west Midlands side pulls off over the next few months, but here 90min look at who Smith should be looking to offload.
1. Lovre Kalinic
Croatian keeper Lovre Kalinic spent last season on loan at French side Toulouse. The move didn't work out for either party with Toulouse being relegated from Ligue 1 and Kalinic only featuring four times.
The 30-year-old still has three years left on his contract at Villa Park, but with Tom Heaton expected to return to fitness before too long and Orjan Nyland doing ok when deputising, the former Gent man's time in the Midlands is all but over.
Potential destination: Genk
Potential price: £2m
2. Ahmed Elmohamady
The Egyptian winger turned full-back has had a good career in England, playing for Sunderland and Hull City as well as the Villans.
At 32 years old though Elmohamady's best days are behind him, and last season saw Frederic Guilbert emerge as Dean Smith's first choice right-back.
With neither man particularly impressing and contributing to Villa's leaky defence, Smith could do with getting Elmohamady's wages off the books in order to free up funds needed to improve their defensive options.
Potential destinations: Egyptian Premier League, Championship
Potential price: £500,000
3. Henri Lansbury
The Arsenal academy graduate has spent three years at Villa Park since making the switch from Nottingham Forest. However, the midfielder has seen his time in claret and blue hindered by injuries, making just 50 appearances during his time in the second city.
After making just two league starts throughout 2019/20 at 29 years old, Lansbury's time to move on has surely arrived. Douglas Luiz and John McGinn impressed throughout their debut Premier League campaigns while Conor Hourihane went from strength to strength leaving little opportunity for the former England Under-21 international.
Potential destination: Championship
Potential price: £1m
4. Jota
Jota only joined Dean Smith's men last summer but it was pretty clear from early on that the Spanish winger was out of his depth in the Premier League.
After featuring in his side's first five games of the season, Jota failed to make an appearance again until December and spent the last six games of 2019/20 on Villa's bench.
It's pretty obvious that Smith doesn't trust the 29-year-old and after recording zero goals and just one assist in ten Premier League appearances, it's easy to see why.
Potential destination: Championship
Potential price: £1.5m
5. Scott Hogan
28-year-old Hogan spent last season on loan at Stoke City before switching to fellow Championship side and Villa's fierce rivals Birmingham City.
The Republic of Ireland international had much more joy at St. Andrew's, notching seven goals in his first eight games before his form dropped off as Birmingham's season derailed.
It never worked out for Hogan at Villa but his decent goal scoring record in the Championship means he won't be short of suitors.
Potential destination: Birmingham City
Potential price: £2.5m