Aston Villa currently sitting seventh in the Premier League following a 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates, despite being 2-0 down after 55 minutes played.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead before Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins pulled the Gunners back to steal a point.
Unai Emery’s side are on average 49.8% of the property this campaign (11th place in the division), taking 12.5 shots per game on average (7th lowest) and are receiving 11.9 shots per game on average (8th place).
With recent defensive injuries to the likes of Pau Torres and Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa has been the only consistent starter and Tyrone Mings has also returned to form from a long-term injury layoff.
This could lead to Villa assessing the market in January for a new centre-back, especially with the Champions League campaign set to get underway again.
Aston Villa are looking for a new defender
According to reports Football InsiderAston Villa are interested in PSG defender Milan Skriniar, who looks set to be free this window.
Tottenham and Galatasaray are also mentioned in the report as clubs potentially looking for a job for the 29-year-old.
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The Slovakian national team member played 246 games for Inter Milanwinning one Scudetto, two Italian Cups and two Italian Super Cups in his time at the club. He then moved to PSG, winning one Ligue 1, one French Cup and one French Super Cup.
Skriniar has he made only five appearances for PSG this seasoncontributing one clean sheet in 381 minutes played. Struggling for playing time, the centre-back would clearly be open to a new challenge, and Aston Villa could be just that.
Why Skriniar could be a better signing than Loic Bade
Another central defender Aston Villa has been linked with this month is Sevilla’s Loic Bade, with Fabrizio Romano reports the club is ready to move forward in a deal with the 24-year-old.
So far this season, the Frenchman is made 17 appearancesproviding one assist, contributing five clean sheets and playing a total of 1460 minutes. But how do the two compare? We have the answer for you.
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Milan Skriniar (23/24) vs Loic Bade (24/25) comparison |
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|---|---|---|
|
Statistics (per 90 minutes) |
Screenwriter |
Bade |
|
Progressive Carries |
0.25 |
0.33 |
|
Progressive passes |
3.73 |
1.51 |
|
Pass attempt |
96.2 |
62.1 |
|
pass % |
95.0% |
85.3% |
|
Solving |
1.49 |
2.24 |
|
Blocks |
1.00 |
0.79 |
|
Interceptions |
0.68 |
0.99 |
|
Aerial duels won |
1.37 |
2.17 |
|
Ball recovery |
6.10 |
4.80 |
|
Statistics taken from FBref |
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When you compare the two defenders (using the 23/24 data for Skriniar as the minute sample is better) you can see that neither player excels in progressive possession, but Skriniar gives you excellent ball-playing ability, completing an incredible 95% of his passes, and still completes 3.73 progressive passes at 90.
The Slovakian’s pass completion rate is even more impressive compared to peers in positions in Europe’s top five leagues, place 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 surpasses Skriniar in terms of defensive actions, especially when looking at tackles and interceptions. At 6-foot-3 with a good turn of pace, Bade is often able to be the aggressor, initiate duels with opponents and finish, while Skirinar is a bit more calculated, especially late in his career.
Aston Villa could add this “monster“, as noted by Italian journalist Siavoush Fallahi, to their side, who, while not having the same physicality as Bade, adds extra security on the ball – which is currently missing with Torres out injured.
He played 37 times in the first European competitionhe could also add valuable experience, especially considering the Villans compete in the Champions League.
