Aston Villa’s summer of restructuring continued on Friday afternoon with the acquisition of striker Rudy Gestede from Blackburn Rovers. The 26-year-old becomes the club’s ninth new face of the summer transfer window as Tim Sherwood strengthens up front following the departure of Christian Benteke to Liverpool.
Discussing his move with the club’s official website, Gestede cited the Villains’ attack-minded approach under Sherwood as key to his decision:
”The manager told me I’d bring another dimension to the team because of my size and the way I play. He trusts me and I felt comfortable to sign as I knew he wanted me here. It’s good to be part of his new set-up. He’s still relatively new himself and trying to refresh the team. He’s brought in a lot of new players and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. I love the way his teams attack and play on the front foot. For a striker, I’m going to have chances to score goals. That’s all you want.”
The History
Brought up in Essey-les-Nancy, France, Gestede joined FC Metz’ youth academy at the age of 16, penning a professional deal one year later. He played for their B team for the next five years while notching three goals in 28 appearances for the senior outfit. A season-long loan spell to Cannes for the 2009/10 campaign harvested four goals in 22 outings, before Cardiff City snapped him up in the summer of 2011.
Gestede struggled to impart his influence during his debut term with the Bluebirds, bagging just one goal and three assists across 25 appearances (five starts). An injury that summer found him sidelined for the opening two months of the 2012/13 Championship season. Upon his return, Gestede played second fiddle to the likes of Craig Bellamy and Heidar Helguson, mustering a modest haul of five goals and three assists in 27 appearances (five starts).
In an attempt to secure more regular playing time, Gestede joined Blackburn Rovers on loan in November 2013. He then signed a permanent deal with the Lancashire club in January, before going on to record 13 goals and three assists in 27 outings. His fine form carried over to the previous campaign, when he chalked up 20 goals and four assists in 39 appearances, ranking joint-fourth in the league-wide scoring charts.
On the international stage, Gestede represented France U19s on 17 occasions between 2006-08 but never turned out for the senior side. Called up by Benin in 2013, he has since scored three times in six appearances.
The Prospects
Speaking on Gestede’s arrival at Villa Park, Sherwood lauded the 26-year-old for his eye-catching attacking output last term:
“I’ve known about Rudy since he was at Cardiff City and he is a player I’ve always admired. His goalscoring ratio last season was fantastic and he is someone who certainly knows how to find the back of the net. He’s a big, physical striker but he can play and I’m pleased to welcome him to the football club.”
The former Spurs head coach was clearly in the market for an imposing frontman to fill the niche vacated by Christian Benteke, who won more aerial duels (187) than any other frontman in the Premier League last season. Certainly, Gestede looks the ideal replacement –over the last two seasons, no player in the top four levels of English football has netted more goals from headers.
Villa’s wide men could well prosper from Gestede’s introduction to the starting XI. The likes of Leandro Bacuna (5.0) – who’s classified as a defender but has been fielded on the right flank in pre-season – already piqued our interest with his out-of-position potential and could further profit from the new boy’s arrival. The former Netherlands U21 international ranked second (18) behind Ashley Westwood (23) among Villa’s midfield for crosses, despite clocking only 1044 minutes. With a cross frequency of one every 15.3 minutes, Bacuna could the perfect foil for the ex-Blackburn marksman.
That being said, the possible recruitment of Emmanuel Adebayor offers Sherwood an alternative to Gestede and with Libor Kozak also in the mix, the Villa boss has target man alternatives. Given that Sherwood has utilised 4-3-3 and 4-4-1-1 set-ups over the summer, Gestede has the physical attributes to lead the line as a lone striker, though the Villa boss has also trialled a 4-4-2, which could see fellow new boy Jordan Ayew offer plenty of pace and movement alongside a more robust strike partner up front. Like Ayew, Gabriel Agbonlahor can also operate on the flanks but will perhaps be limited to minutes off the bench in light of Sherwood’s squad overhaul.
Sherwood’s penchant for attacking football may well promote Villa’s main men as viable value options for the season ahead. A weekend hat-trick from Scott Sinclair (5.0 in FPL) has many mulling over his inclusion in our midfields, and if Gestede nail down a starting berth, he may also stake a claim for our Fantasy consideration. Likely to come in around 6.0 – the same as Ayew – in FPL, the former Blackburn hit man has six favourable fixtures (bou, cpl, SUN, lei, WBA, STOK) in the first eight Gameweeks to ease him into his new surrounds.
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