Former Aston Villa man encourages Gerrard to gut Leeds of crucial core players
Former Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne has encouraged Steven Gerrard to look into the signings of Leeds United pair Rodrigo and Raphinha.
Gerrard quickly set the tone in his intentions when he arrived at Villa. Big signings of Philippe Coutinho – albeit on loan – and Lucas Digne represented ambition.
Furthermore, Villa have been linked with a number of other big stars. The West Midlands outfit are keen on making Coutinho a permanent signing.
Luis Suarez has been tipped to reunite with both Gerrard and Coutinho at Villa Park. What’s more, in January, Villa were linked with a move for multiple defensive-midfielders.
Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur were linked, though the latter moved to Tottenham. Bissouma could be a potential snare in the summer, though, as the noise has not stopped on that one.
Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips was another midfielder that cropped up. However, former Villa man Dunne thinks another pair of Whites men would be solid additions to Gerrard’s side, as well as Phillips.
“You look at Raphinha and Rodrigo, they’d be good to bring in. There’s obviously talk of Kalvin Phillips going there and that’d be a great signing,” he said via Leeds Live.
Indeed, the signings of each of those players would surely improve the Villa side. They would, of course, gut Leeds of some of their best players.
“You’re looking for a star player in each position. It seems like they have a lot of money to spend, but it’ll be interesting to see who he [Gerrard] targets,” Dunne added.
Gerrard will likely be able to bring in some more star quality in the coming window. Reports of a whole host of players being allowed to leave will mean for some big replacements likely heading to Villa Park.
Raphinha pursuit would be met with resistance
While Raphinha would be a top signing for Villa, it would be met with resistance from Leeds. The West Yorkshire side’s position on Raphinha is clear, they want to see the Brazilian sign a new deal.
While the last time they entered talks with Raphinha did not bear fruit, Leeds felt it went well anyway.
As such, they clearly see that there is potential of Raphinha remaining.
With that being said, Aston Villa, or any other side for that matter, may find it tough to prise the star away.
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