Aston Villa linked to promising young Augsburg midfielder

Aston Villa and Hull City are the front-runners to sign Augsburg midfielder Kevin Vogt, according to a report from the Independent. The 22-year-old made his senior debut for VfL Bochum in 2008 and featured regularly for an Augsburg side who are primed to end the season no lower than 8th, their highest ever finish in the Bundesliga. Though typically playing in a defensive midfield role, Vogt is more of a water-carrier than true stopper, but he would likely push for regular playing time in a Villa midfield that looked sorely thin and overmatched for much of the current season.

Though Vogt has been an important player for an overachieving side in a league on par with (if not superior to) the Premier League, he still very much fits the "you and hungry" mold of player closely associated with Villa's recent transfer policy. And if anything, that's reason for skepticism; Paul Lambert has been clear that his sights are set higher in the upcoming window-assuming he continues in his position as manager-and though the jury is still out as to whether that will be an option, it would certainly seem more likely that Vogt was a player Villa were monitoring in previous windows rather than a realistic summer target. When taken together with the source of the rumor, this doesn't seem like much to get worked up about at the moment.

Still, Vogt's an intriguing player and even if Randy Lerner-or perhaps his successor-open up the pocketbook this summer, this squad needs more help than one or two major signings. A promising young midfielder that's been successful in a top-tier European league is quite appealing in comparison to some of Villa's current options in midfield. As with most transfer rumors it will likely fade into the background and amount to nothing pretty quickly, but if there is something to it there are far worse ways for Villa to spend their money.