Dean Smith believes Aston Villa must spend in the summer transfer market to correct their over-reliance on captain Jack Grealish.
Villa started their second season back in the Premier League strongly but their form has tailed off without Grealish. He has been on the sidelines since February due to a shin problem. In the 10 games he has missed, Villa have picked up just two victories.
Manager Smith knows they need to address their squad depth in the summer. There have been links, for example, with former loanee Tammy Abraham. The striker spent the 2018-19 season on loan at Villa but is struggling for gametime at Chelsea.
That would be one way to ease the burden on Grealish. Although Smith did not mention Abraham directly, he admitted they are planning to make moves in the transfer market.
“We are always looking for that. We know we have an exceptional talent on our hands and any team he came out of would be weaker for it,” Smith said.
“We have to make sure we are looking to improve as a squad next season. We looked at it when we got promoted and we had to build a squad from scratch pretty much. We bought in 13 new faces, five this season and we have to add to that squad to keep improving.
“That’s what you have to do to be a force in the Premier League. Next year will be our third season in the Premier League; you are playing catch-up with the bigger clubs and the finances they have had has enabled them to be stronger.
“We have been planning for this window since the last window closed and probably before that. We have our plans and they will continue to evolve.”
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Grealish will remain on the sidelines when Villa travel to face Everton on Saturday. However, the midfielder is making positive steps in his recovery after his last attempt at a comeback didn’t go to plan.
“Jack’s scan came back positive so we are gradually starting to load him this week. We are a bit tentative with what happened last time,” Smith added.
Another injury issue for Villa to contend with will see Trezeguet ruled out for possibly the rest of 2021 due to the knee injury he suffered earlier this month against Liverpool.
“Yes, I believe (it is an ACL injury),” Smith confirmed.
“He has had a significant knee injury which is normally nine months. We don’t normally like to put timeframes on but that is the average time to come back.”
Smith satisfied with Wesley return
Morgan Sanson will also be out for the trip to Goodison Park with a knee injury. But it isn’t all bad news for Smith on the injury front.
Forward Wesley is available for selection again after recovering from a knee injury he suffered in January 2020. He came on against West Brom on Sunday and could get another chance against Everton.
“It has been great to see him over the last week or two looking like an Aston Villa player again, rather than a recovering player,” Smith said.
“He is a really likable player; for him to come on and almost score the winner just gives him and the whole squad a boost.”
READ MORE: Aston Villa preparing ‘huge bid’ for Premier League winger
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The manager has seen his side struggle without Jack Grealish and knows he needs to bolster the ranks to decrease their reliance on him
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