Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson is reportedly on the radar of Aston Villa as Steve Bruce eyes a January loan move to beef up his defensive options.
Daily Mirror are claiming that Carl Jenkinson is on the radar of Championship side Aston Villa. The Arsenal defender has found his chances hard to come by and hasn’t quite impressed in the ones that have been provided to him.
Jenkinson is being eyed by new Villa manager Steve Bruce as a temporary addition to the defensive roster in January to beef up his options, as he aims to reinstate the club’s Premier League status.
The English full-back returned to Arsenal after somewhat successful loan spell at West Ham United, who were reportedly keen on signing the player on a permanent basis. But the defender decided to stay at the Emirates, hoping to break into the first-team setup under Arsene Wenger.
Jenkinson has found his chances hard to come by, especially with the form that Nacho Monreal had continued to show in his outings with Hector Bellerin an automatic choice on the other side of the defence. Injuries forced Wenger into bringing Carl Jenkinson into the starting eleven but the 24-year-old failed to shine.
Jenkinson struggled to have a positive impact and his substitution during the 2-0 defeat to Southampton in the EFL Cup was even cheered by the crowd, something that can shatter the player’s confidence even further. Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is thought to have a healthy relationship with Arsene Wenger, who is ready to let the player go out on loan to the Championship side, in an attempt to rebuild his shattered morale.
Aston Villa started the season poorly and found themselves at the bottom end of the Championship table. But the appointment of Steve Bruce seems to have instilled confidence and desire into the squad and the side haven’t looked back since.
Bruce currently has the veteran Alan Hutton as his first-choice right-back. The addition of Jenkinson would not only provide him with an able option to replace the 32-year-old in the starting lineup, but also serve as competition to Alan Hutton for his place, which will keep him on his toes and may result in more consistent performances.
Even after a terrible start to the season, Villa are just 4 points off the playoff places and a few January additions could be the difference between a promotion to the Premier League and another campaign in the Championship next season.
