It seems that we are open to offers for Albert Adomah if the Birmingham Mail are to be believed. The 30-year-old may have been our top goalscorer last season, but the club’s need to make at least £40m in player sales this summer means a number of hard decisions will be made.
Albert’s former clubs Middlesbrough and Bristol City are said to be the teams most likely to make bids, although the player himself is keen to stay at Villa Park.
On the face it, selling your leading scorer shouldn’t be something we should be considering. A wide man who can score 15 goals in a single season is a tremendous asset, especially when you need goals from all over the pitch in a 46 game season.
The Ghanaian international’s contribution to getting us into the playoffs was undoubted. On top of that, the return of Robert Snodgrass to West Ham means our goal threat from wide areas is already significantly diminished.
With all that being said though, there are a number of reasons why a sale does make sense. At 30 years of age, our no.37’s value will only diminish in the next few years. He has another two years to run on his current deal, and after a red-hot campaign in front of goal, he will be a player that other Championship sides will want to sign.
At the end of last season, his form had also dropped off pretty significantly. Just one goal and two assists in his last 12 league matches wasn’t anything to write home about.
If those performances extend into next season, and his 2018/19 campaign proves to be a lot less fruitful in terms of goals, we couldn’t sell him for much next year with 12 months to run on his contract.
In contrast to Chester and Grealish, Adomah is someone who could be replaced more easily, either through smart recruitment or, more likely, by looking towards the youth ranks with Andre Green and perhaps even Corey Blackett-Taylor.
There will be no easy calls in terms of player sales this summer, but if Adomah does go for a decent fee, I can certainly understand the decision-making process behind it.
