Aston Villa's Championship woes continued last night as Dean Smith's side lost 2-1 to Norwich City and duly slipped to 16th spot in the second tier. A brace from Jordan Rhodes was enough to hand the Canaries the three points and left dejected Villa fans exiting Carrow Road with nothing but a miserable trip back to the West Midlands.
Currently the fourth highest scorers in the division, Villa have shone in the attacking third, but it's been their woeful defensive record that has been the catalyst for their mediocre start to the season, and it's an area new boss Smith and his assistant John Terry will have to tighten up, if they are to get themselves back into the play-off places.
Terry was an integral part of Villa's defence last season, but since his retirement they have struggled to nail down a central defensive duo that has been able to stem the flow of goals.
However, while most fans will point towards the absence of Terry in the back-line being the main catalyst for Villa's demise, there's been another significant change with Orjan Nyland taking over from the departed Sam Johnstone, who is now plying his trade at fellow Championship club West Bromwich Albion.
28-year-old Nyland has only kept two clean sheets in the 13 matches he has played this season and the Norwegian international could be under threat in January when the transfer window reopens.
One huge name that Smith and the Villa board should target is Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who is out of favour at the Clarets at the moment and is readily look for a move away from Turf Moor in the new year as he is desperate for more first-team football.
The England international has slipped down the pecking order since picking up some notable injuries and having been usurped by Tom Pope for the goalkeeper's jersey, he is currently playing second fiddle to Joe Hart in Pope's absence, and Sean Dyche has already spoken at his will to try and find Heaton another club when Pope returns from injury himself.
Heaton has huge Championship experience having played for Cardiff City and Bristol City before moving to Burnley, where he helped them earn promotion to the Premier League. He will bring a much-needed quality to the Villa defensive wall, and it would be the sort of move that could work well for both parties for the next few years, and Heaton should be at the top of Smith's shopping list when the window reopens.
#twitterclarets #UTC
