Aston Villa’s 3-2 win over Burnley last weekend highlighted that the squad needs strengthening.
Unai Emery’s side is currently second in the Premier League, winning 13 of their 20 matches.
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Despite that being a success, the former Arsenal boss is still keen to make additions in January, with an attacker set to make the switch to the Midlands.
Aston Villa transfers latest – Cyril Ngonge
According to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Hellas Verona have accepted a bid from Villa for attacker Cyril Ngonge, who has been described as "gifted,” as per one source.
The two parties are said to have 'reached an agreement' for a fee that is rumoured to be €10m (£8.7m), which is enough to make him a Villa player this January.
However, the suggestion is that Ngonge is keen to stay in Italy rather than move to the Premier League, which may be a huge roadblock on the journey to acquire his signature, unless the Villans can tempt him into a change of heart.
Cyril Ngonge’s style of play
The signing of Ngonge will provide competition for Moussa Diaby, who has failed to become a key player in the Villa side since signing for a huge £51m. The ex-Bayer Leverkusen star has featured in every Premier League game this season, scoring four and assisting four. On the other hand, Ngonge has become a shining light in the poor Hellas Verona side, which sits 17th in the Serie A.
The 23-year-old has the potential to develop into a frightening attacker if he was to play for a better side such as Villa, and the table below showing his statistics from the last year across the top European leagues proves that.
xG
0.27
Bottom 92%
Goals
0.36
Bottom 57%
Shot-creating actions
3.73
Top 8%
Progressive carries
2.83
Top 7%
Successful take-ons
1.71
Top 12%
Crosses
2.92
Top 4%
According to FBref’s similar player model, Ngonge’s attributes are closely linked to Jarrod Bowen’s of West Ham. Just like the Englishman, the Belgian is a versatile left-footed winger by trade who can play across the attack but has mainly featured as a centre-forward or as a second striker. If the Verona man was to move to the Villans, he would feature in the role just off Ollie Watkins, which is where Diaby and John McGinn have played at times this season.
Ngonge is a confident player who uses his quick feet, dribbling ability, and direct approach to cause havoc. He often drifts wide to find pockets of space, where he can use the aforementioned traits to produce a cross, which would work perfectly alongside Watkins.
However, it is difficult to compare his stats fully due to the side he is playing in currently, often feeding off scraps constantly to create a moment of magic from nothing – although as shown below, he is certainly capable of doing just that…
Nonetheless, the PSV youth academy star is his side's top scorer this season with five goals, and he has contributed 47% of his team's overall Serie A goals this campaign. Therefore, it is only reasonable to presume that he would thrive at Villa given the quality of players and coaching staff in Emery’s team.
Ngonge has shown plenty of promise since moving to Italy, and signing him for just £8.7m seems like a bargain., particularly if he can emulate the impact that Bowen has had at the London Stadium – the former Hull City man scoring 11 league goals this season.
The in-demand forward has plenty of desirable traits, and he would fit Emery’s system like a glove due to his versatility. It is a move that simply couldn't be a failure.