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Aston Villa linked with ‘bit-part player’, Dean Smith wants deal ‘before the window closes’

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According to Birmingham Live, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa are interested in Moritz Bauer. Dean Smith reportedly wants to complete a deal for another defender ‘before the transfer window closes’ and could capitalise on the Austrian’s lack of appearances with Stoke City.

The right-back joined the Potters from Rubin Kazan in January 2018 and made 15 Premier League appearances in his debut season. Bauer’s second season at the Bet365 Stadium saw him struggle for playing time, however, which could lead to him leaving City.

The 27-year-old has made just four Championship appearances in all competitions this season, amassing only 272 minutes of football. Bauer finds himself behind the likes of Cuco Martina and Tom Edwards in the pecking order and would surely jump at the chance for first-team football elsewhere.

Villa have been credited as having an interest, but the Claret and Blues already have James, Bree, Alan Hutton and Ahmed Elmohamady who can operate in the same position as Bauer. It’s more likely that they’ll wait until the summer before signing another full-back as Hutton & Elmohamady are out of contract at the end of the season.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.