Aston Villa look set to open up their cheque book and splash out on LOSC Lille midfielder Idrissa Gueye.

It’s been widely speculated in media outlets that a £9m deal has been agreed between the two clubs. That fee would be the most spent on a Villa signing in the last four years.

The twenty-five year old Senegalese international has grown rapidly as a player in last three seasons and seems to improve with age and added experience.

At Lille, Gueye has become one of ‘Les Dogues’ key performers with his energetic and dynamic style.

The midfielder usually seems at his happiest when marshalling just in front of his defenders and breaking up play with his eagerness to track creative opposing talents quite astonishing. Like fine defensive minded midfielders before him, such as Claude Makelele, the Senegalese holding-man has that wonderful ability to read the game and get his team out of trouble early.

As he has gotten older Idrissa has started to venture further forward with more regularity than he had shown previously. That has resulted in him getting four Ligue 1 goals last term with Lille.

He also has a decent knack of keeping hold of the ball when he’s in possession, which is always a welcome positive for any midfielder.

Should Villa keep hold of Fabian Delph and bring in Idrissa Gueye that could give the club a great platform to remain disciplined in midfield and see the Villains take more games by the scruff of the neck.

To be honest his style of play looks extremely well suited to the English Premier League.

I have watched Gueye from afar for a while now due to my friendship with Andrew Gibney (a superb French Football journalist) who has a huge passion for Lille. It’s amazing what games interest you just because it interests a mate.

Andrew (@Gibney_A) has been really impressed with the midfield man’s talents for a while now. Towards the end of last season he told Twitter:

“Idrissa Gueye easily Lille’s best player this season.”

For more about Idrissa Gueye the player, Andrew wrote this about him for FRENCH FOOTBALL WEEKLY.

I know spending around £9m on a player is a big thing for Villa these days. But in the grand scheme of things looking around at some of the other deals that have happened so far this off-season, the Gueye transfer could be a real coup for the Midlands club and also a bit of a bargain.

Manager Tim Sherwood really seems to be starting something exciting at Villa Park and this kind of move only goes to cement such an idea.

If they can get this transfer deal over the line then they will have beaten the likes of Southampton, West Ham and Crystal Palace to get their man. That should show the supporters that things are progressing well under Sherwood.

I honestly believe that Gueye will provide a lot of energy and technical skill that will only improve Aston Villa’s midfield. I doubt they’ll miss Tom Cleverly too much once they see Idrissa Gueye run their engine room!

 

Posted on July 2nd, 2015 by scott
Filed under: Article