Aston Villa: £85k-p/w titan could be a Maguire alternative

The Villans have been linked with an interest in the Manchester United centre-back.

Aston Villa were dealt a frustrating blow earlier this month as Tyrone Mings suffered a serious knee injury during the 5-1 defeat to Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Who could Aston Villa replace Tyrone Mings with?

It was recently reported that the Villans had made enquiries about a possible deal to sign Harry Maguire from Manchester United, after West Ham had struck a £30m deal for his services.

The Hammers’ move for the England international fell through and the central defender is said to be settled at Old Trafford, which could also rule out a switch to Villa Park before next month’s deadline.

 

90min journalist Graeme Bailey recently named Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier as a player who could emerge on the club’s radar in their pursuit of another centre-back, as he stated that it would not be a surprise to see them target the Englishman.

“I think they will go into the central defender market now, maybe a loan somewhere. I was thinking there, maybe Eric Dier could be an option there, It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “Villa were looking at Aymeric Laporte before Pau Torres. Do they go down that route again? For Laporte or even Dier.”

How good is Eric Dier?

 

The 29-year-old titan is a proven Premier League performer who could be a dream alternative to Maguire for Unai Emery if he is able to recapture his form from the 2021/22 campaign.

Dier, who was once praised as being “strong” by former manager Antonio Conte, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.86 across 33 outings last season in the top-flight, which is a score that would have placed him eighth within the Villa squad and behind Ezri Konsa and Mings.

However, his performances during the previous term suggest that he has the ability to be a standout at the back for the Spanish head coach if he can get back to his best.

The former Sporting enforcer averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.01 across 35 league starts for Spurs as he delivered consistently impressive displays at centre-back. Meanwhile, no Villa centre-back has averaged a score higher than 6.91 over the last two campaigns.

Maguire has failed to average a Sofascore rating higher than 6.95 over the last two seasons with Manchester United and is coming off the back of just eight league starts last term.

Dier completed 88% of his attempted passes and won 56% of his duels as his side kept 16 clean sheets, which suggests that the towering defender was reliable in possession and able to win the majority of his physical battles.

His statistics from that season suggest that the quality is there for him to be Villa’s outstanding central defensive option and his experience in England, with 270 top-flight appearances, could allow him to hit the ground running in the same way that Maguire would have.

The £85k-per-week ace also won 70% of his aerial duels during the 2022/23 campaign.

This was only 2% behind Mings’ dominance in the air last term and this means that he could offer a similar presence at the back in terms of his ability to deal with long balls, set-pieces, and crosses into the box.

 

Therefore, Dier would be a dream alternative to Maguire before next month’s deadline as he is also an England international quality centre-back who is capable of delivering consistently impressive Premier League displays.

This is why Emery must swoop for the experienced brute over the coming days instead of following in West Ham’s footsteps with Maguire, who seemingly wants to remain in Manchester.