The Villans have been touted with an interest in the talented attacking midfielder.
The January transfer window is inching closer and Aston Villa could use it as an opportunity to provide their squad with a boost ahead of the second half of the season.
Unai Emery’s side have enjoyed a terrific start to the 2023/24 campaign and are currently competing to secure a place in the Champions League next term.
They topped their Europa Conference League group and are set for knockout football in Europe in 2024, whilst they are also third in the Premier League and two points off league-leaders Liverpool.
The Villans may not want to rest on their laurels and assume that their success will continue, though, and they are seemingly looking for sustained progress rather than just being happy with where they have got to thus far.
As such, Monchi and Emery are reportedly looking at the possible signing of an attacking midfielder to bolster the side in the upcoming January transfer window.
Aston Villa transfer news – Oscar Gloukh
It was recently reported by Football Insider that Villa are eyeing up RB Salzburg prospect Oscar Gloukh ahead of the turn of the year.
The outlet claimed that the Israel international is on the club’s radar heading into the next window as they view him as a player with ‘top potential’, which means that the talented gem could arrive as a signing with the long-term firmly in mind.
They also added that they could secure a deal for his services for a fee of up to £50m, with a minimum fee of £40m mentioned, for the teenage whiz.
Salzburg have been knocked out of the Champions League this season and that was said to be a blow to their hopes of keeping hold of the attacking midfielder.
The report claimed that it will be hard for them to retain Gloukh amid interest from other teams in the Premier League and Europe, although no other specific teams have been named.
It was revealed that he would be one of two attacking signings that the club are hoping to bring in ahead of the second half of the season to bolster their Champions League hopes.
Emery and Monchi could now land the dream replacement for Philippe Coutinho, who left the club to join Al-Duhail on a season-long loan over the summer, by signing the Salzburg star..
The Brazil international was deemed surplus to requirements at Villa Park and moved to Qatar to spend the campaign playing regular football.
There has not been any official mention of an option or obligation for that deal to become a permanent one next summer and his contract with Villa is not due to expire until the summer of 2026.
However, Gloukh could arrive as the Brazilian gem’s replacement this season, albeit five months after his departure on loan, and be the long-term number ten option that allows the club to part ways with Coutinho on a permanent basis at the end of the current campaign.
Philippe Coutinho’s Villa statistics
Coutinho initially joined the club on loan from Barcelona at the start of 2022 and enjoyed a superb start to life back in Engand during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.
The former Liverpool magician made 19 Premier League appearances, with 16 of those coming as a starter, and showcased his quality at the top end of the pitch.
He scored five goals, assisted three, and created five ‘big chances’ for his teammates in those 19 matches as an attacking midfielder or winger.
Villa then opted to sign him on a permanent deal from Barcelona for a reported fee of £17m and his form on the pitch took a turn for the worse.
As you can see from the table above, Coutinho was among the worst players in his position for creativity and took plenty of shots without offering much of a goal threat.
In total, the 31-year-old flop managed one goal, zero assists, and zero ‘big chances’ created in 20 Premier League appearances during the 2022/23 campaign.
These statistics show that he was unable to continue his excellent start to life at Villa as a scorer and a creator of goals, which led to his exit over the summer.
However, Emery and Monchi could now land a dream replacement for him by signing a player who is on the way up in his career, rather than down.
The statistics that show why Villa should sign Gloukh
The 19-year-old wizard, like Coutinho, is an attacking midfielder who has also played out wide on the left flank in the past and could operate as part of the manager’s frontline.
He started his senior career in his home country with Maccabi Tel Aviv and racked up nine goals and eight assists in 33 matches in all competitions before his move to Salzburg at the start of this year.
The teenage talent needed a period of adaptation as Gloukh only produced two goals and two assists in 17 appearances for the Austrian side during the second half of last season.
That adaptation appears to be complete as the Israel international has enjoyed a terrific start to the current campaign with a return of six goals and six assists in 25 games in all competitions.
Gloukh has plundered six goals and created eight ‘big chances’ for his teammates in 18 starts across the Bundesliga and Champions League this season.
The £50m-rated whiz, who talent scout Jacek Kulig hailed as “impressive” and a “jewel” for Salzburg, scored two goals and provided one assist in six Champions League outings – a direct goal involvement every other match.
These statistics suggest that Gloukh could be the number ten Villa lost when Coutinho’s form dropped off as he has the ability to score goals and create chances at an impressive rate as an attacking midfielder, if the talented gem can translate his impact to English football.
He also has plenty of time left to develop and improve over the years to come, as his 20th birthday is not until April 2024, and that means that the Salzburg star could be a fantastic signing for the short and long-term.
