Aston Villa Linked to German Midfielder
Rumours coming out of Germany are that Dominick Drexler, attacking midfielder for Holstein Kiel, is a potential target for Aston Villa. German sports magazine Kicker are reporting that Newcastle and Norwich are also interested in signing Drexler. The midfielder has scored eight goals and four assists from 16 starts for Kiel who play in the second tier of the Bundesliga.
Drexler has found a rich vein of form this season and has also netted two goals in the DFB Pokal (German Cup) for Kiel. According to the report, Newcastle have watched him several times this season. Drexler, who is 27, can play up front but is more effective when used as an attacking midfielder. He scored last weekend against Fortuna Duesseldorf in their 2-2 home draw.
Drexler’s career has not been spectacular; he played for several teams in his youth before signing for Rot-Weiß Erfurt. In his 81 appearances, he scored 16 times before joining Greuther Fürth for an unsuccessful spell. Moving on to VfR Aalen, he netted 10 times in 55 appearances before joining Holstein Kiel in 2016. He was part of their squad that was promoted from the third tier last season. His form this season has helped carry Kiel to the top of the table as well as creating interest outside Germany.
It seems unlikely that this rumour carries too much weight as the Aston Villa midfield is packed with riches. With the likes of Albert Adomah, Josh Onomah, Robert Snodgrass, Henri Lasnbury, Conor Hourihane and Jack Grealish competing for places, adding another midfielder doesn’t make sense. If the plan would be to play Drexler up front, the statistics show that this would not give a massive return.
With Newcastle and Cardiff also linked, Holstein Kiel would be looking to maximise their asset’s value. The FFP regulations mean that we aren’t in a position to bargain should we be interested. Whether this rumour becomes more than that will be seen over the next few weeks but it doesn’t seem to make too much sense from the outside.