Blog: Experienced players are a must so let's hope for a busy January

January is upon us, but will Aston Villa use the transfer window to augment a squad ravaged by poor form and recent injuries? Villa blogger Matt Turvey looks at how one month might define the club's season.

With a new year upon us, Aston Villa fans will no doubt be looking for an improvement in form with the absence of Ron Vlaar and Christian Benteke being a cause of serious concern for the Midlands club.

So, despite a win against Sunderland, it is concerning that Vlaar went off injured. With Jores Okore also out, there's been a sense of shakiness in Villa's defence and, as every fan knows, conceding goals easily makes winning games a lot hard.

Thankfully for the past two games, Gabriel Agbonlahor has stepped up to the plate with two goals in as many matches. However, many fans will still consider Benteke their most potent goal threat, despite his injuries and recent form.

Which, if many are honest, is a real concern given that there is the potential for Villa's young Belgian to be cashed in at some point in the near future. No, it may not happen in January, but a fair portion of the support imagine it will happen sooner rather than later.

In a sense, such a plan isn't the most crazy of ideas given two things - the potential value of Benteke and the need for the team to improve overall.

Yes, Paul Lambert's youthful revolution is a noble and sensible plan for the club, but a little experience wouldn't go amiss and, as all fans know, experienced and talented individuals don't go cheap.

All of the above sets the scene for a potentially busy January for Villa, with the major question on the lips of every fan being the following - "How much money do we have to spend?"

Villa's finances are, by all accounts, steadied to a point where expenditure is possible again, though there are still several monetary millstones around the neck of the club including the likes of Alan Hutton, Shay Given and Darren Bent.

All three appear to have no future at the club but are taking up significant portions of the club's wage costs with the trio earning enough to pay the wages of around ten young recruits.

However, whilst augmenting the squad with more numbers would be sensible, it may well be far more prudent for Villa to focus on a smaller number of individuals, perhaps two or three ready made additions in a variety of key areas.

For example, a commanding defensive midfielder would certainly assist Villa in terms of developing their passing game, something that most fans would argue needs improvement.

After that, the focus would depend on just exactly how Lambert's team intends to play longer term. Do Villa go for another winger given that they lack players who naturally play wide? Or do they go for an additional central defender given that both Vlaar and Okore have both suffered with injury?

Whatever happens, there must be some form of improvement if Villa are to finish in the middle of the table. Yes, the team occupy 11th place as I write this article, but recent form has been a real worry and shows just how different a team's style and confidence can be with the loss of just a few players.

So will Villa spend in January? We'll find out over the course of the coming month.

You can follow Matt Turvey's regular opinions at his own site, Aston Villa Life at www.astonvillalife.com, via the site's Twitter account @astonvillalife, or via his own Twitter account @MatthewSTurvey.