da realsbet： Aston Villa have stuttered their way through the Premier League season so far, winning just twice as Steven Gerrard’s aim of leading them to a European spot appears to be diminishing with each passing match.
da poker： The 42-year-old hasn’t been helped with injuries, with summer arrival Diego Carlos potentially missing the majority of the campaign due to an injury he suffered against Everton in just their second match of the season.
Villa have conceded ten goals in eight matches, which is a respectable record compared to some in the top-flight, however having another solid centre-back alongside Tyrone Mings would help considerably.
A David O’Leary signing from 2004 would certainly bolster the Villa backline…
Martin Laursen would solve Gerrard’s issue
Laursen signed for the Midlands side in the summer of 2004 from AC Milan for a fee of £3m. The Danish defender had struggled for game time in Serie A, featuring just 19 times during the 2003/2004 season as legendary pairing Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini kept him out of the team.
Having won the Champions League, Coppa Italia, and a Scudetto with Milan, Villa managed to pull off a masterstroke enticing him to the Premier League.
His first few seasons were ravaged by injury, as he made just 28 appearances in three years. In 2007/2008 however, Laursen played in every league match, also adding in six goals as Villa finished the campaign in 6th position, with the Dane playing an integral part in their success.
The club finished in the same position the season after, with Laursen again playing a prominent role, although not as much as the year before. 19 league appearances were as good as it got for the Dane and it was to be his final season in England.
At just 31, he retired from football following a knee injury and Gerrard could only wish to have a centre-back like him at Villa just now.
Laursen is still highly regarded at the club, with the official Aston Villa Twitter account regularly posting videos of the defender and referring to him as a “legend” despite featuring just 91 times for the club, the majority of supporters will acknowledge him as such.
With Carlos out injured, Gerrard would enjoy having a prime Laursen marshalling the Villa defence for the rest of the season, that’s for sure.