The Birmingham Mail is reporting Steve Bruce is monitoring the situation of Hull City right back, Ahmed Elmohamady. This would be a mistake, however, as Aston Villa have limited resources to improve the club this summer.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce loves his ex-Hull City players.
We were reminded of this back in January when a host of names circulated in the news reports. David Marshall, Eldin Jakupovic, Abel Hernandez, Curtis Davies, and Ahmed Elmohamady all interested the Villa manager at one point or another.
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This time it’s the latter Egypt international footballer. Elmohamady, 29, is a versatile wide man, capable of playing anywhere along the right side.
During the Premier League season, he made 32 appearances for Hull City, recording two assists. Villa is set to see Hull next year as the Tigers were officially relegated from the Premier League last week. Joining them will be Middlesbrough and Sunderland.
We covered here earlier, which positions Steve Bruce should focus on in the summer window. Right back is certainly not one of them. With three adequate options to choose from (De Laet, Bree, Hutton), focus should remain on acquiring Sam Johnstone, an extra forward/attacking player, and cover to the left back and number six positions.
Next: Which positions will Steve Bruce strengthen?
Moreover, Elmohamady turns 30 in September. Wide players tend to age more quickly than their central counterparts. Dr. Tony Xia expressed his opinion that Aston Villa must develop a non-wasteful transfer strategy. Far too much money remains wasted on non-performing players on high wages + astronomical transfer fees.
Elmohamady is a fine player and important cog to the Egyptian National Team. But, his acquisition would represent more waste to the Villa books. Somewhere along the way, one of Bree, De Laet, or Hutton won’t feature at all.