Steven Gerrard's phone ringing hot as Aston Villa hunt defender
Steven Gerrard admits his phone has been ringing hot as Villa hunt a centre-back before next week’s transfer deadline.
The boss is eager to plug the gap left by Diego Carlos, who will miss between five to seven months as he recovers from surgery on a ruptured Achilles.
Villa are considering both loan and permanent options with Southampton’s Jan Bednarek one possible target, though Gerrard has insisted he won’t make a signing just for the sake of it.
He quipped: “I wish I had a penny for every player that's landed on my phone since Diego's injury, put it that way.
"If the right pieces come up in the coming days we'll try and make it happen. If they don't we'll continue with the group we've got and move forward.”
Villa, who are also looking for a midfielder, opted not to pursue a £25million deal for Watford forward Ismaila Sarr.
Gerrard said: “There was a lot of talk about that (Sarr) last week but it certainly wasn’t from myself or anyone else at Aston Villa. We can’t control the external noise.
“What I can say is, not just in this instance but with any player we are looking at, it has to feel right in every area. If it is not, we won’t go there.”
He added: “I won’t make signings and make decisions just to collect players or just to stand still, the players have to be right and improve us in the short-term.
“They have to help us over the course of the season. Even if it’s detrimental to me I won’t make signings just for the sake of it unless I feel it’s right.”
Carlos, who joined from Sevilla for £26m, is Villa’s most expensive purchase of the window so far and Gerrard said: “We’ve got a player who could be missing for five, six, seven months, depending on how the rehab goes.
“We brought Diego in for a reason because we thought we needed that support in that area.
“Obviously now we’ve processed the setback and disappointment from that we are now analysing that situation.
“If we can try and find someone with similar attributes, which is a challenge, but if we can and it can help us in the short-term we will try and make it happen. Whether that’s a loan or a buy we will have to wait and see.”
