Aston Villa urged to exploit Chelsea 'issue' with January transfer move

Aston Villa have been advised to exploit Chelsea's wealth of attacking talent once the January transfer window opens

Aston Villa have been instructed to take advantage of Chelsea's bloated squad and the potential unrest that can often come with such a sizeable squad, whose demands for regular minutes cannot always be satisfied. Even after the loan of Raheem Sterling to Arsenal on transfer deadline day, the Blues - under Enzo Maresca - have a plethora of options in attack.

Maresca can call on Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk and Christopher Nkunku to operate in the final third and with such a number of high profile options, balancing minutes and morale can be a tricky challenge.

Villa favourite and former Wrexham and Wolves manager Dean Saunders believes there is an opportunity for a side like Villa, who can, after all, offer the prospect of Champions League football to anyone potential transfer targets should they pursue deals once the January window opens.

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Saunders sees Frenchman Nkunku, who has scored seven goals in 11 appearances spanning three separate competitions this season, as a player who might grow frustrated by opportunities at Stamford Bridge, despite his output in front of goal when granted a chance. Nkunku signed for £60m from RB Leipzig last summer and signed a six-year deal at Chelsea.

Villa, meanwhile, sold Moussa Diaby in the summer but still have the likes of Leon Bailey, Morgan Rogers and Emiliano Buendia to operate behind either Ollie Watkins or Jhon Duran. Nevertheless, Saunders believes there could be an opportunity for his former club to benefit from an overpopulated squad elsewhere.

“The issue cropped up when they played in the League Cup," Saunders told BonusCodeBets.co.uk. "The manager left Nicolas Jackson out of the team, he rested him and then he put Nkunku in who scored three. Then when Chelsea play on Saturday against Brighton, he has to call Nkunku in and say ‘I’m sorry, I’m leaving you out, I’m putting Nicolas Jackson back in’.

"At that moment, Nkunku knows no matter what I do, I’m not going to start in front of Jackson. With six games in, I can’t see a future at the club. As long as the manager keeps winning games, he’s got a bit of power, but if you lose two or three, players in that Chelsea dressing room all start getting a voice.

"That’s when they turn against you and that’s the problem when you have too many players. I’m sure there are players at Chelsea that you could slide off of that. Arsenal are only paying a third of Raheem Sterling’s wages with Chelsea paying the rest. You probably can get a deal out of Chelsea right now.

“It probably isn’t realistic for Villa to sign Curtis Jones or Harvey Elliott but I was trying to give an example. I’m looking at clubs who have really good players who aren’t getting a game. Chelsea, I’ve lost count of how many players they’ve got but they can’t all get in the team.

"They’re not only the best players in the country they’re from but they’re treated like the best ever from that country. They’ve also been the best players at the clubs they were at. They find it really difficult to sit on the bench for five or six games and not get a game. I’ve been a manager and this is where you start getting issues.”

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