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I hope everyone remembers where they put their malarkey detectors when the summer transfer window closed, because it looks as if we're going to be needing them again. With the January window quickly approaching, we're bound to see more and more rumours involving Aston Villa, and they'll fall everywhere on the believability scale. Today's, though, strikes me as being firmly entrenched on the "not going to happen" end of things. Apparently Villa are interested in bringing Seattle Sounders and USMNT player Clint Dempsey in on loan. The deal would be something like the Robbie Keane move from a couple of seasons ago, as Dempsey would have to return to Seattle for the start of the MLS season before the EPL season came to a close.
There are a few things that make me doubt the veracity of this rumour. First is the source: Metro is not my go-to place for great transfer news. It's not to say that they've never been right, I just don't necessarily trust them as a primary source. Second is the fact that Aston Villa have bigger needs elsewhere during the January window, primarily in the midfield. It's true that Dempsey can play the midfield, he's definitely more of an attacking force, and counting on him to solve the problems that Villa have had would be silly.
The third problem I see here is that even if we make the argument that Dempsey could help in both the attack and the midfield, he's not going to be around for a long time. This isn't just a loan, it's a partial-season loan. I imagine the cost would be pretty low, but that isn't the sort of move I see Paul Lambert -- who has been focused on building a young team under club control -- making.
It seems that Paul Lambert has faith (perhaps misplaced, but whatever) in Libor Kozak and Aleksandar Tonev. If that's the case, then there is no need for more depth up front. The one way I could see that assessment changing is if Christian Benteke gets sold in the January window. I still don't think that will happen (who is going to pay the £35 million that he'd likely cost?), but it's a possibility. As it stands now, I think we can ignore this rumour. But we'll keep our eyes open and let you know if anything else develops.