Earlier this week the Championship announced the Team of the Season for 2016/17 and unsurprisingly, it didn’t include a single representative from Aston Villa. The Villans have disappointed upon their first campaign in the Championship, with Steve Bruce only managing to guide his side to 12th place – ten points away from a playoff spot.
But the Birmingham outfit boast one of the biggest transfer budgets in the division and will almost certainly go on spending spree this summer to make a real fist of a promotion push next season. Whilst the club will inevitably be drawn towards cheap talent from abroad, recruiting from the second tier could prove to be a real masterstroke – not only improving their squad with tried and tested Championship quality but also weakening those of their divisional rivals.
With that in mind, we asked Aston Villa fans earlier this week to vote for which Championship TOTS members they’d like to see Bruce swoop for this summer. The results of our exclusive poll have now been double and triple checked, so here’s a look at who made the top three…
3. Aaron Mooy
Aaron Mooy has been a revelation in English football since signing for Manchester City last summer and subsequently joining Huddersfield’s hipster revolution on loan. He’s gone on to claim three goals and five assists for David Wagner’s side whilst averaging the ninth-most created chances per match, 2.1, of any player in the Championship. Unlikely to be brought into the first team at the Etihad Stadium next term, Mooy should be available this summer. The Terriers will be keen to sign him permanently, however, whilst the Australian international is likely eager to test himself in the Premier League after such a fine season.
2. David Stockdale
Three different goalkeepers have represented Aston Villa in the Championship already this season, which shows how much of a problem position it’s been for the Birmingham outfit throughout 2016/17. That perhaps explains why Brighton’s David Stockdale took second place in our poll; he’s started all but one league fixture for Chris Hughton’s side this term and thoroughly impressed, ranking first throughout the division for clean sheets, 17, and penalty saves, three, whilst also producing 77 stops. With his contract due to expire this summer, the 31-year-old will be available on a free. But promotion at Brighton will almost certainly see him commit his future to the club.
1. Anthony Knockaert
An incredibly popular choice throughout our series of Championship polls and with good reason. Anthony Knockaert can lay claim to being the most exciting player in the second tier this season, consistently providing the magic to get Brighton over the line in their bid for automatic promotion. He’s played a hand in almost a third of their goals with 13 strikes and seven set-ups and has proved almost unplayable for opposition defences at times this term. Unfortunately for Villa fans, he looks certain to be in the Premier League one way or the other by the time 2017/18 comes around.
Results
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