Aston Villa linked to Arsenal, England midfielder Jack Wilshere
By Josh Tonti
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…