Aston Villa have signed Wigan’s Grant Holt on loan until the end of the season, with Villa manager Paul Lambert hopeful the 32-year old can score the goals to help fire Villa to safety. A loan move for any player in January suggests Lambert might not have been given the spending money he desires, but of all the signings he could have made, this seems like a strange one.
Holt was exceptional for Norwich as they rose from League 1 to the top flight between 2009 and 2011 and also scored 25 goals in the Premiership, but as he reaches the twilight of his career he has struggled to find the net, managing only two goals for Wigan, both of which came last August.
Signing a striker with that record barely looks like a good move for clubs in the Championship, let alone for a top-flight club fighting to avoid relegation to that level.
Following a cameo appearance at Anfield in Villa’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool, time will tell whether Holt succeeds, but given that Villa already have a powerful target man struggling for goals in Christian Benteke, its hard not to feel like Lambert should have focused on other signings.
Also Get the very Latest Football Transfer News, Rumours and Gossip direct to your email.