Villa completed a wealth of transfer business over the summer, but a report in the Birmingham Mail claims that manager Tim Sherwood only pushed for two of the signings personally, with other deals left to the club’s recruitment team.
It is stated that Rudy Gestede and Jordan Ayew were the two players that Sherwood really wanted to bring to the club over the summer, as he looked to replace the goal threat which departed when Christian Benteke signed for Liverpool.
Sherwood believed that Ayew, a 24-year-old striker who arrived from Lorient in France, was able to step up to the Premier League as soon as he was signed, but so far, the forward has done little to impress - playing four league games with no goals or assists to show for it.
Gestede has performed better, scoring four goals in nine games across all competitions, and Sherwood will be hoping that Ayew can start to somewhat replicate the Benin international’s form in the coming weeks.
Sherwood had a personal say upon bringing in these two players, and that says a lot about Villa’s recruitment policy, with the manager recommending just two of the 11 players they brought in over the summer.
The report claims that Paddy Reilly was the chief talent spotter for the club, and it was on his recommendation that Randy Lerner sanctioned the signings of all the other incoming players.
Villa’s transfer policy has yet to pay dividends this season, and everyone is hoping that Sherwood can start to build a team out of his own signings, and all those that were given to him by Reilly and Lerner.