da luck:
da cassino: Aston Villa announced on their official Twitter account on Thursday that midfielder Aaron Tshibola had returned to the club after his season-long loan spell with League One outfit MK Dons was cut short.
The 22-year-old had left the Midlands outfit on a temporary basis after falling out of favour under Steve Bruce at Villa Park last term, despite only joining the club in a £5m deal from Reading in the summer of 2016.
The midfielder has struggled for game time since that point and as well as his disappointing spell with the Dons, he also failed to make an impression during a similar move to Nottingham Forest in the second-half of last season.
Meanwhile, Leeds have lost seven of their last nine Championship fixtures after topping the standings earlier in the campaign, and manager Thomas Christiansen may look to strengthen his squad in the January transfer window.
While Tshibola is going through a tough time right now, the Yorkshire outfit could be making a shrewd move by bringing him to Elland Road.
Here are three reasons Leeds should take a punt on the Villa outcast…
He would strengthen their midfield
While things haven’t really worked out for Tshibola at Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and MK Dons, the 22-year-old’s impressive and dominant performances for Reading prove his abilities and suggest that he can still make a big impact at this level.
Leeds have been missing something in the middle of the park at times this season, and the 6ft 3in Villa man would bring some strength and bite to the central area that players like Kalvin Phillips and Eunan O’Kane are failing to provide right now.
According to Squawka, Tshibola made 31 interceptions and eight clearances in 13 appearances for the Royals in the Championship in the 2015/16 campaign, as well as winning 15 of the 21 aerial duels he contested and successfully completing eight of the 11 take-ons he attempted.
He has time on his side
While Tshibola is clearly struggling to replicate the performances that earned him a move to Aston Villa in 2016 and attracted interest from the likes of Celtic and Crystal Palace, at 22 years of age he has plenty of time on his side to turn his career around.
Whether the decline is simply down to a loss of form or an attitude problem, the midfielder’s next move in his career may turn out to be his most important and he will want to prove himself to ensure he doesn’t tumble down the Football League ladder.
If Leeds did bring him to Elland Road in the New Year, they would be getting a player that isn’t in a great place but has the potential to make a big impact.
The fans wouldn’t let him fail
Whereas Tshibola lost his way during loan spells with Nottingham Forest and MK Dons, you can be sure that the passionate Elland Road faithful would do their best to ensure that didn’t happen with the 22-year-old if he did join the Yorkshire outfit.
The noise and atmosphere the Leeds fans create should help to spur on any of their players on the pitch, and perhaps that extra little motivation from the stands is what the midfielder needs to get his slightly floundering career back on track.
Do you agree, Whites fans? Let us know below.