Aston Villa currently sit seventh in the Premier League after drawing 2-2 with Arsenal at the Emirates, despite going 2-0 down after 55 minutes played.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz for Arsenal gave them a 2-0 lead before Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins pegged the Gunners back to steal a point.
Unai Emery’s side are averaging 49.8% possession this campaign (ranking 11th in the division), taking 12.5 shots per game on average (7th lowest) and are conceding 11.9 shots per game on average (ranking 8th).
With recent defensive injuries such as Pau Torres and Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa has been the only consistent starter, with Tyrone Mings also coming back to fitness after a long-term injury.
This could see Villa assess the January market for a new central defender, especially with the Champions League campaign set to ramp up again.
Aston Villa looking at signing a new defender
According to reports from Football Insider, Aston Villa are interested in PSG defender, Milan Skriniar, who looks to be available this window.
Tottenham and Galatasaray are also mentioned in the report as clubs potentially looking at a deal for the 29-year-old.
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The Slovakia international played 246 games for Inter Milan, winning one Scudetto, two Italian Cups and two Italian Super Cups in his time at the club. He then made the move to PSG, winning Ligue 1 once, one French Cup and one French Super Cup.
Skriniar has only made five appearances for PSG this season, contributing to one clean sheet in 381 minutes played. Struggling for game time, the centre-back would clearly be open to a new challenge and Aston Villa could be exactly that.
Why Skriniar could be a better signing than Loic Bade
Another centre-back Aston Villa are being linked with this month is Loic Bade from Sevilla, with Fabrizio Romano reporting the club are prepared to advance on a deal for the 24-year-old.
So far this season, the Frenchman has made 17 appearances, providing one assist, contributing to five clean sheets and totalling 1,460 minutes played. But, how do the two compare? We’ve got the answer for you.
Stats (per 90 mins)
Skriniar
Bade
Progressive Carries
0.25
0.33
Progressive Passes
3.73
1.51
Passes Attempted
96.2
62.1
Pass Completion %
95.0%
85.3%
Tackles
1.49
2.24
Blocks
1.00
0.79
Interceptions
0.68
0.99
Aerial Duels Won
1.37
2.17
Ball Recoveries
6.10
4.80
When comparing the two defenders (using 23/24 data for Skriniar as the minute sample is better), you can see neither player really excels in progressive carrying, but Skriniar does give you excellent ball-playing ability, completing a whopping 95% of his passes, whilst still completing 3.73 progressive passes per 90.
The Slovakian’s pass completion rate is made all the more impressive when compared to positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues, ranking among the top 1%.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
Bade slightly outperforms Skriniar in terms of defensive actions, especially when looking at tackles and interceptions. Being 6 foot 3 with a good turn of pace, Bade is often able to be the aggressor, initiate duels with the opposition and come out on top, whereas Skirinar is slightly more calculated, especially at the back end of his career.
Aston Villa could add this “monster”, as labelled by Italian journalist Siavoush Fallahi, to their side, who, whilst he doesn’t have the same physical traits as Bade, he does add extra ball security – which is missing currently with Torres out injured.
Having played 37 times in Europe’s premier competition, he could also add valuable experience, especially considering the Villans are competing in the Champions League.
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