According to reports in the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa are interested in a move for PAOK striker and Greece international Stefanos Athanasiadis.
Villans boss Steve Bruce is looking to strengthen his squad as he looks to secure a return to the Premier League next season following a disappointing 13th-placed finish in the Championship last time out, and he has already completed deals for John Terry, Sam Johnstone, Ahmed Elmohamady and Glenn Whelan.
At 28 years of age, Athansiadis would be another experienced buy for the Midlands outfit and a move to England for the prolific attacker would be something of a change of scenery for the centre-forward considering he has played his whole career in his home nation.
The striker, valued at just £1.7m by transfermarkt.com, also has 12 caps for his country and while he may seem like a good potential option to add to the squad on paper, he may not be what is needed for the club next term.
Here are three reasons Aston Villa should avoid signing Athanasiadis…
They don’t really need a striker
It may come as something of a surprise to see Villa linked with a striker because in all honesty, they probably don’t need one.
Last season Steve Bruce played a system with one centre-forward and if that is to be the case again next term, then he certainly doesn’t need another player in that position.
Top goalscorer Jonathan Kodjia will likely start the upcoming campaign as long as he is fully fit after an ankle injury, while the club also has Scott Hogan, Gabby Agbonlahor, Ross McCormack and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy to pick from as things stand.
His record last season
While he has scored a pretty impressive 106 goals in 294 appearances in total for PAOK since making his debut in 2007, it may be a concern that he failed to net a single league goal in 22 appearances last term.
While he did score five goals in 33 outings in all competitions, his less than prolific record over the course of the previous 12 months would certainly be a cause for concern for Villa and mean bringing him to the club would be a risk, especially considering the 28-year-old has never played his league football outside of Greece.
Short-term fix
When Aston Villa are signing players this summer, they should be thinking about individuals that can make the step up to the Premier League with them this time next year, as that is their aim ahead of the new season.
While Athanasiadis could turn out to be a gem in the Championship, it would be difficult to see him making an impact in the top flight considering his career so far and the fact that he will be approaching his 30th birthday.
Villa would be much better off sticking with what they have, or bringing in a player with potential that they know can make a difference if they win promotion next May.
Do you agree, Villa fans? Let us know below.
