Aston Villa agree terms with Walker and chase Blackburn’s Samba
Published:Tightening up in defence is one thing needed at Aston Villa if they are to avoid getting relegated this season and manager Gerard Houllier is already taking steps to bring some new faces into the back four.
Villa’s home defeat to Sunderland has seen them slip into the Premier League relegation places for the first time since 2003 and they are now 5/2 in the football betting to be relegated this season, which is the same price as Blackpool.
In the last ten league fixtures Villa have shipped 24 goals and Houllier has decided that reinforcements are needed to tighten up in this area.
He has confirmed that an agreement has been reached with Tottenham that will allow Kyle Walker to join on loan until the end of the season.
Walker has been one of the stars at Championship leaders QPR throughout the first half of the campaign and his aggressive runs down the right should add an extra dimension to Villa’s play.
The 20-year-old should also have no trouble waltzing into the first team at Villa Park with Luke Young sidelined with a knee injury and Carlos Cuellar more at home at the heart of the defence.
Meanwhile, Villa have also been linked with Blackburn’s Chris Samba, who has been restless at Ewood Park for a relatively long period.
Blackburn appear happy to sell their Congolese defender but are targeting Villa’s James Collins as part of any deal.
The only sticking point seems to be whether any money will also be exchanged as part of the deal, with Blackburn valuing Samba as being worth slightly more than Collins.
There is an outside chance that Walker may arrive in time to make his Villa debut in the upcoming FA Cup third round game away Sheffield United, where they are the 6/5 favourites to win.
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