Former Aston Villa man Alan Hutton has been reacting to a transfer update regarding Rangers defender Filip Helander, Football Insider report.
The Lowdown: Helander links
Steven Gerrard is making a head start when it comes to summer transfer activity, watching targets Boubacar Kamara, Duje Caleta-Car and Geoffrey Kondogbia live over recent weeks.
A Villa source has recently shared the club’s interest in Helander, a defender who Gerrard signed for Rangers back in 2019 in a deal worth £3.5m.
The Sweden international will be entering the final 12 months of his Rangers contract in the summer, and it looks as if Villa are keen on a possible cut-price deal.
The Latest: Hutton reacts
Talking to FI about that update from a Villa source, Hutton, who contributes for Sky Sports, had this to say regarding the interest in Helander, labelling the pace of the Premier League as a ‘worry’ and labelling the step up to English football as ‘huge’.
“Helander is a player who reads the game and gets himself into good positions.
“Obviously the injuries haven’t helped but the thing I would worry about is the pace side of it. When you go down south in the Premier League, you’re playing against a lot of quick players.
“There’s quick movement round about you, at your feet. It’s whether he can handle that. It’s a huge step up.
“No disrespect to Rangers or anybody in Scotland but the Premier League is arguably the best league in the world. That’s the only thing that I would worry about.
“You look at the centre-halves Villa have got now. Konsa is quick, Mings is quick and they can still get caught out.”
The Verdict: A risk?
Helander has made just 11 appearances this season due to knee and foot problems and has missed a whopping 66 games through injury since moving to Scotland.
Gerrard reportedly has his concerns over Helander’s injury history, so a reunion in the Midlands could bring plenty of risks heading into 2022/23.
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Bringing Helander to Villa Park as a potential back up option may well be a wise move, especially if Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings move on, but making him a marquee centre-back signing may not be the best idea given his extensive injury woes and arguably worrying lack of pace.
In other news: Source: Gerrard now happy for ace to leave Villa Park; he’s ‘central to a lot of the problems’.