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Aston Villa have only brought in one player so far, Grant Holt on loan from Championship side Wigan Athletic until the end of the season. The move increases depth at striker, but depending on whom you ask, may be seen as unnecessary.  There are other holes in the squad that are quite apparent to seemingly everyone except the club's upper management, and unless they have some moves up their sleeves we may yet again see a disappointed fan base come the first of February.
Central Midfield, both at defensive midfield and attacking midfield, seems to be lacking. Fabian Delph has been one of the better players this season in a Claret and Blue shirt. Unfortunately, few have matched his work rate and it couldn't hurt to bring in a player in that department.
Central Defense has been much improved in this campaign and many thanks are owed to captain Ron Vlaar for that. Ciaran Clark and Nathan Baker have looked better alongside Concrete Ron, but after the Nathan Baker injury it may be part of the team that could be added to for depth's sake, despite Jores Okore claiming to be ahead of schedule in his injury rehab. As shown in the Stoke City match, taller and more physical forwards commonly seen in the Premier League can exploit Chris Herd without much difficulty. Right back is okay with both Matt Lowton (who can fill in at CB) and Leandro Bacuna. Whether left back has been an improvement over last season with Lambert bringing in Antonio Luna to replace Joe Bennett is a toss up, but Luna is seemingly one of the first names on the team sheet just about every time out.
With the resurgence of Marc Albrighton, Lambert has had more options at the outside forward positions. That being said, Andreas Weimann has been in what seems like a season-long slump. An option would be to use some younger players in this role, however Samir Carruthers had his loan spell at MK Dons extended until April. Charles N'Zogbia is also slated to return in April following surgery on his Achilles tendon in June of 2013.
There are a few players who may be able to help out the squad as well as being affordable. Kevin de Bruyne was one who could have possibly come in on loan, but was sold by Chelsea to Wolfsburg for £16m. Another player that could have helped Villa at CDM would be Steven Defour, but apparently Spurs have hijacked the move and he won't be coming to B6. Erik Lamela is a player who doesn't play regularly at Spurs, and although some fans don't like loan moves he could help out this team provided Spurs pay some of his wages. I imagine any players who would be purchased would come from Lamberts "Young and Hungry" mold. Memphis Depay is a 19 year-old Dutch winger currently playing at PSV. This is who I would buy to strengthen that position. Personally, I would leave central defense alone especially if Baker is available to play soon. However, I would also look at buying a CDM or CM, possibly Will Hughes from Derby County or maybe just giving Gary Gardner a proper run in the side.
Who would you like to see Paul Lambert bring in? Vote for an area of the team and then comment the player(s) below!
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