Steve Bruce is using his contacts extensively again. This time, the Aston Villa manager wants to persuade Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere to the second division.
In a report that comes out of left field, Steve Bruce wants Jack Wilshere at Aston Villa Football Club. Akin to the John Terry rumors, this is not a drill.
This link comes from The Mirror, here.
Wilshere, 25, has seen his Arsenal career derail after enormous promise in his teenage years. In 2010/2011, as an 18/19-year old, Wilshere played in 35 of 38 Premier League matches, and 49 in all competitions. Since that breakout year, it has been a series of small, downward steps for Jack.
An ankle injury left him out the entire following campaign in 2011/2012. Not only did he not appear once for Arsenal, but he missed out on the 2012 Olympics and Euro 2012 with Great Britain & England, respectively, through injury.
Still recovering, his following year started slowly before he regained full match fitness. The technical midfielder had a pair of decent-to-good seasons as he fought for a spot in Arsène Wenger’s squad. Oftentimes, Wilshere made way for other talented central midfielders by playing on the left wing.
Anyways, a couple seasons pass and Wilshere suffers ligament damage to his ankle twice. What follows is a loan move to AFC Bournemouth for the 2016/2017 season. In all, Wilshere accumulated 27 Premier League appearances (22 starts) for The Cherries last term. He recorded zero goals and two assists with an 83.2% passing clip.
His aggregate WhoScored rating was a respectable 6.82.
Wilshere has 34 England caps to his name with two goals. He was in Roy Hodgson’s squad during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Aston Villa Verdict:
I don’t see this adding up for Aston Villa, realistically. Perhaps Arsenal would fancy a loan to Steve Bruce, but the feeling is they want a permanent transfer. Wilshere undoubtedly adds a wealth of talent to Villa, but another injury-prone player is the exact opposite of what the club needs. Moreover, his valuation could be upwards of £12-15 million; Wyness and Xia are not paying that with Financial Fair Play restrictions tightening next year.
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Here’s one at least-slightly realistic scenario, however:
Aston Villa sign a one-year lease to Arsenal for Jack Wilshere’s services (a loan) for, say, £1.5 million. Should the club achieve promotion, they exercise an obligation to buy for, again, say, £15 million. If this does not occur, Jack returns to his parent club at season’s end. Villa pay full wages.
We shall see where this leads…