[ad_pod ]
This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Aston Villa have already signed numerous forward players this summer, landing Wesley for a club-record £22m whilst also bringing Jota and Anwar El Ghazi in on temporary deals.
However, that hasn’t stopped them from reportedly pursuing other attackers too.
Recently the Villans have been linked with a move for Egyptian winger Trezeguet who contributed to 18 goals in the Turkish Super Lig last term.
But speculation surrounding Brentford’s Said Benrahma is failing to go away.
Last month Le10 Sport reported that Dean Smith’s side had an interest in the winger, before Sky Sports then claimed the Bees had rejected a bid from the Midlands outfit for his services.
After the news was revealed that the club had signed Tyrone Mings, it was suggested by The Guardian that they were still keen on the Algerian.
He was in scintillating form in the Championship last term, scoring ten goals as well as laying on 14 assists for his teammates.
And it’s that creative nous that could be extremely beneficial for Wesley if he does indeed make the switch to Villa Park.
In the second tier last term he created 2.3 chances per game, finishing the season with the same number of key passes every 90 minutes as a certain Jack Grealish.
The Villa skipper was at the top of the charts in terms of Villa players in that statistic so Benrahma could give them a much-needed dose of creativity from a wide area.
Last term, El Ghazi produced the highest number of key passes from out on the flanks, making 1.3 per game.
The stats after him, however, were rather underwhelming.
If Villa want to establish themselves in the Premier League as they return to the top of the tree in English football, ensuring their new striker gets off to a promising start will be crucial.
Landing Benrahma could significantly improve the chances of that happening. He displayed remarkable consistency in terms of his chance creation, making seven key passes against Bolton.
He also played six against his potential new team back in February.
It’s likely that the 23-year-old wouldn’t get as much time on the ball if he made the leap to the top-flight, but the point stands that Benrahma’s creativity could help Wesley.
The forward scored just ten league goals for Club Brugge last season, but with the help of a creative wide player could hit the ground running immediately at a higher level.