The club are apparently interested in Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Barry Bannan.
A report by the Sheffield Star journalist Dom Howson said that both us and Middlesbrough were keeping tabs on the Scottish international.
Fans on Twitter were pretty split about our reported pursuit of the former Villa man:
He won’t join us. Hates us. But he’s quality
— Connor (@connor1thompson) 14 June 2018
Can't see it myself it hates us. We hate him so ????
— Nathan (@nathancarty112) 14 June 2018
Agreed mate, fair point – saying that, boro could probably offer Bannan more anyway!
— BrummieJoe (@BrummieJoeHD) 14 June 2018
I really couldn’t care if he played for Villa before – great Championship player and fits the bill to a tee. #bcfc
— Everything BCFC (@everythingbcfc) 14 June 2018
Please don’t sign him I would never cheer for him
— Jason Peters (@j190687p) 14 June 2018
Hes a quality player but hes openly stated he dont like us so its a hard one
— Cal (@CallumTxylor) 15 June 2018
His a good player wat we are missing he will make us way better. His from Scotland his not a villa fan. He was gona hate us when he played for villa its only natural we are there rivals. If he plays like he has done for sheff w these past years, he deserves the money.
— Michael Morby (@c64b37ff7a9a406) 15 June 2018
Verdict:
The transfer fee that Bannan would cost, combined with his previous affiliation with Villa make this a pretty unlikely transfer. The Star first reported our interest and the fact that it is from a local newspaper near to Wednesday, rather than sources close to the Blues, probably make this less credible.
Still, there is some logic in the rumour because we are definitely looking for a playmaker who can play in central midfield. We are not looking for a number 10 this summer if Garry Monk keeps with his 4-4-2 system, so someone with a good passing range but also has a good all-round game will be needed. We’ll just have to see who we bring in.