Aston Villa came from behind in the Second City derby to secure a memorable 4-2 victory against Birmingham City at the weekend.
Dean Smith’s side fell behind after Lukas Jutkiewicz’s volleyed home on the half-hour mark, before two goals in two minutes from Jonathan Kodjia and Jack Grealish turned the game on its head. Tammy Abraham extended their lead from the penalty spot after the interval before Kristian Pedersen clawed one back, only for Alan Hutton to make sure of the victory to give Smith his first taste of success in the derby.
The Villans’ defensive record has improved vastly under Smith, but Villa should be targeting a new goalkeeper in January as they eye a return to the Premier League. After losing Sam Johnstone in the summer, the club signed Andre Moreira and Orjan Nyland, but both keepers have failed to convince so far. Therefore, a new shot-stopper should be top of their priority list.
And the perfect signing would be Burnley outcast Tom Heaton.
Valued at £3.6 million by Transfermarkt, the former England international has failed to break into the first-team after a succession of injuries allowed Nick Pope to stake his claim for a first-team spot. And following the arrival of Joe Hart from Manchester City in the summer, Heaton has been pushed even further down the pecking order.
However, the 32-year-old remains one of the top goalkeepers in the Premier League and will be desperate to get first-team football under his belt. Heaton has many years remaining at the top level and has a vast amount of experience to bring to Villa Park. With over 185 Championship appearances, there aren’t many better ‘keepers available at the moment.
Signing Heaton would be the perfect way to kick off their January spending, at the same time going some way to seriously enhancing Villa’s promotion credentials heading into the second half of the season.
Aston Villa fans… what do you think? Let us know!
