Two proven Premier League frontmen are seeing moves in January mooted, with Lee Hendrie suggesting that both would be welcome in the West Midlands
Aston Villa have been linked with moves for Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud and former Liverpool frontman Daniel Sturridge, and Lee Hendrie says Dean Smith should be looking to bring in both.
Further firepower is required at Villa Park on the back of summer signing Wesley being ruled out for the remainder of the season through injury.
Options for January were already being explored before a Brazilian forward was laid low with cruciate ligament damage.
World Cup winner Giroud has registered on the radar of a number of clubs, with the Frenchman needing to find a way out of Stamford Bridge in order to find regular game time.
Sturridge is another of those being heavily linked with a January move, with the 30-year-old currently in Turkey with Trabzonspor.
Former Villa midfielder Hendrie believes two proven Premier League performers should be targeted by a side needing to find inspiration from somewhere in an ongoing bid to beat the drop.
“It’s absolutely crucial (they get their business right),” Hendrie told Sky Sports.
“They spent over £100m in the summer transfer window.
“Lots of clubs do panic buy (in January), they try to bring players in that are going to be suitable and fit the bill for the Premier League and the club.
“Aston Villa have been linked with so many players so it’s so crucial they bring in the right personnel.
“John McGinn’s injured, there’s talk of Drinkwater coming from Chelsea who would be ideal for that midfield area.
“There’s also talk of Giroud and Sturridge, personally I’d go out and get the two of them if possible. I suppose that’s just down to what funds are available and obviously we can’t state the goalkeeper enough.
“Tom Heaton (being out) is a massive blow at such a crucial stage of the season. You want players who are going to be available and unfortunately, at the moment Villa have been hampered with injuries to key players so they’ve got to be shrewd in this January transfer window.
“I would like to see two centre forwards coming in and make a big impact.
“Two centre forwards would be ideal because that is the area that they’ve struggled and they’ve had to rely on the likes of Jack Grealish, who is the top scorer at the club.”
Heaton, like Wesley, will miss the rest of the 2019-20 campaign, with Villa having to complete their Premier League schedule and quest for Carabao Cup glory – with a semi-final date with Leicester approaching – without the services of two experienced figures.