According to reports, Aston Villa could be set to make a £7m + Marlon Harewood bid for West Ham striker Craig Bellamy.
Bellamy has been heavily linked with a January exit from Upton Park, with Celtic and Manchester City both mentioned as potential destinations.
As with those two, there’s a link with Bellamy to Aston Villa. Bellamy worked with Manchester City boss Mark Hughes at Blackburn, and he had a loan spell at Celtic in 2005. During that loan spell, his manager was current Villa manager Martin O’Neill, whose side is an impressive third after Saturday’s win over Bellamy and the Hammers.
John Carew has been out with back issues recently, and that has seen Gabby Agbonlahor feature as the lone striker for the most part. And though Villa can get plenty of goals from midfield to supplement Agbonlahor’s contributions, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone like Bellamy around to help free up more opportunities for Agbonlahor.
Along with getting some helpful funds, the Hammers would get an experienced striker in Harewood, who’d make his return to West Ham after leaving for Villa in the summer of last year. He did fall out of favor towards the end of his time at Upton Park, but he had a lot of success there, including scoring 14 league goals in the 2005/06 season. He’s on the fringes at Villa, but an in-form Harewood could be key to West Ham’s hopes for staying up.
I think this could be a good deal for both sides, and the chance to reunite with O’Neill and help play a part in Villa’s push for a Champions League place and make a serious run at the Premier League title could really appeal to Bellamy.
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