SB Nation Seattle: All Posts by Kirsten Schlewitz

Scouting Report: Nicklas Helenius

2013-06-17T11:27:10Z

Nicklas Helenius

Age: 22
Position: Forward
Club(s): Aalborg BK
In one word: Impactful

The latest word around Birmingham is that Danish striker Nicklas Helenius will be announced as an Aston Villa player after he passes his medical on Monday. The 22 year old has been at Aalborg since 2005, and made his debut with the senior squad at the end of the 2009-2010 season. Last August, he earned his first senior cap for Denmark against Slovakia, and later played in the friendly against Turkey in November.

According to the AaB official site, Helenius has played 102 games for the club, scoring 40 goals in the process. Last season, he notched 16 league goals, second only to Copenhagen's Andreas Cornelius. That was enough to get him named the Danish Superliga's Player of the Year by Uefa, especially considering he helped AaB finish fifth and qualify for Europe -- last year, they were seventh.

This Dane sounds like a typical target man. Helenius is 1.96m / 6'5" feet tall, making him quite dangerous in the box. He's also good off the ball, creating space for his teammates -- would love to see Gabby's pace combined with this particular talent. A quick scan of YouTube videos will reveal his presence and control in the area, and his composure carries over to his spot-kicks as well.

Excitingly for Villa supporters, it seems Helenius really wants to join the club, mostly due to the youthful revolution Paul Lambert is creating in the squad. He also wants to fight for a spot in the first team, which might not be terribly easy assuming the club can hang on to Christian Benteke. But with Andreas Weimann having just signed a new contract, and Gabby Agbonlahor presumably spending his entire career with the Villa, it would be nice to have a plethora of options up front.

Scouting Report: Antonio Luna

2013-06-17T10:11:05Z

Antonio Luna

Age: 22
Position: left back
Club(s): Sevilla, but on loan to Mallorca for part of 2012-2013
In one word: Bargain

Finding a solid, quality left back to slot in to the regular starting XI has been a real problem for Aston Villa over the last few seasons. Stephen Warnock's faint glimmer of World Cup-esqe talent flickered and died. Eric Lichaj never achieved consistent, premier-league quality. Enda Stevens seems to have vanished into thin air. And although Joe Bennett improved at the end of the past season, there's still a touch of uncertainty about his game.

Paul Lambert's solution? Snag a cheap defender from La Liga and use him either as a squad player or as a means of giving Bennett a kick in the pants (although it could be both, really). That player is Antonio Luna, a 22 year old left back who came up through the youth ranks at Sevilla. Although he made his first senior appearance with the club in May 2010, he was loaned to Almería the following year.

Last season, after struggling to break in to the first team at Sevilla, Luna went on loan to sinking Mallorca. Whether this is indicative of his talent, however, is hard to say -- remember, this same team elected to bring in Alan Hutton to help at right back. Luna did manage to rack up 11 starts while on loan, but it did nothing to save Mallorca from relegation. He did manage to earn his starts over both young Spaniard Kevin and the experienced Antonio López.

Luna has also played a few games for the youth levels of the Spanish national side. Unsurprisingly, however, for a player valued at around 2 million, he's not broken into the senior squad of the side that won both the last World Cup and Euros. What's he going to do, replace Jordi Alba? Let's remember, Paul's looking for bargains here, not to break the bank. Especially not for a left back.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information available on how Luna actually plays, or what qualities he can bring to a side. Unless someone has watched every match he played for Mallorca last season, we Villa supporters will likely have to remain a bit in the dark on his specific talents. But with Lambert coming right out and saying that Bennett will benefit from the pressure of bringing in another left back, it seems it might not be Luna's play that's particularly important, but rather his effect on Lambert's first choice for the position.

Aston Villa set for an upgrade at left back?

2013-06-16T18:19:08Z

It's no secret that Aston Villa have had a bit of trouble at left back over the past few seasons, ever since Stephen "I went to the World Cup and all I brought back was this silly tee shirt" Warnock burned out into a pile of charred ashes. Then there was Eric Lichaj, who had so much potential that he simply never realized. One of Paul Lambert's first signings, Joe Bennett, had a bit of a rough start to the season, although he started to look more stable toward the end. It seemed Bennett was as good as Villa were going to get, and most supporters crossed their fingers for more improvement and looked for potential replacements at other positions.

But, according to reports out of Spain, Villa and Sevilla have agreed on a fee, thought to be around £2m, for defender Antonio Luna. The 22 year old came through the ranks of the Sevilla youth system and made his senior debut at the end of the 2009-2010 season. He spent the second half of the past season at loan at Mallorca -- hopefully not picking up any tips from our good friend Alan Hutton -- where he started 11 games for the struggling side.

Even if Luna isn't Villa's answer to their constant left back woes, having him in the squad, for a cheap price, could very well light a fire under Bennett and keep him improving.

Callum Robinson signs first professional contract with Aston Villa

2013-06-14T15:07:59Z

Callum Robinson has announced, via his Twitter account, that he has signed his first professional contract with Aston Villa. The young forward, born February 2 1995, has been with the Villa Academy since the start of his career. He has also been capped for England at the U17 level.

Like so many other talented Villa youngsters, Robinson has had the pleasure of playing in the NextGen tournament. He scored in last year's 4-0 group stage win over Fenerbahce, and was part of the squad that beat Chelsea this time around to lift the trophy. In fact, he even helped Villa get their first goal, when a panicked Chelsea fouled Robinson inside the area and Graham Burke converted the resulting penalty.

Talented youth from the Academy choosing to stick around and sign new contracts with the club? That's always a positive sign, in my book. The Villa youth system is certainly one of the best in England and supporters should be proud when we retain its products.

Scouting report: Leandro Bacuna

2013-06-14T11:23:17Z

Leandro Bacuna

Age: 21
Position (s): Box-to-box midfielder, winger, defensive midfielder
Former club: FC Groningen
In one word: pacy

On June 13, Aston Villa confirmed the signing of Dutchman Leandro Bacuna from Eredivisie side Groningen on a three-year deal. Bacuna came through the youth ranks at Groningen and spent four seasons with the senior side, making 109 appearances and scoring 14 goals.

The 21-year old is certainly talented. He's a versatile footballer who can play on either flank, sit deep in midfield, or even fill in defensively. Bacuna is both strong and quick and can make use of either foot, although he's more powerful with his right. He's got loads of energy and can keep up the pace throughout the entire 90 minutes. Bacuna does enjoy a nice long ball, and for the most part, his awareness is astute enough that he's actually able to get his shot near the target.

As you can probably guess, it's not exactly certain which position the new Villa man will play -- he played nearly every position with his last side, except goalkeeper, left back and center back. Most stories label Bacuna as a winger, but according to reports of those who watched him regularly in the Dutch league, he's better suited to a central midfield role.

After shuffling from position to position, Bacuna has stated that he now wants to focus on his development at central midfield, where he assumes a box-to-box role -- when was the last time the Villa had a decent box-to-box man? If he's able to flourish under Paul Lambert, this could be a fantastic signing.

But even those who like his raw talent are able to acknowledge Bacuna's flaws. Sometimes he relies too much on his power, and in doing so, loses some of the precision that could make his game better. In the same way, his set-pieces tend toward the powerful more than the precise, although he did become Groningen's go-to penalty man last season, so there must be something to his technique from the spot.

Bacuna's constant switching of positions has hindered his development somewhat, and has perhaps affected his confidence. It's been noted that Bacuna can be rather inconsistent at times. And if the side isn't playing well, rather than stepping forward, he tends to fade into obscurity.

It's important to remember he's still a young player, however. If Villa give him enough time and encouragement, Bacuna may very well develop into a pivotal cog in the side.

Aston Villa tell Stephen Ireland he's free to walk

2013-06-13T22:31:58Z

It seems Aston Villa have told Stephen Ireland that he's free to find a new club -- although one imagines that the words used were much more along the lines of, "Hey, mate, you're sucking up a huge part of the wage bill and you're doing #*&! all so how's about doing us a favor and setting up shop elsewhere?"

Since joining the Villa as part of the deal that saw James Milner moving to Manchester City, and had his debut on the day his new side fell 6-0 to Newcastle. Such an inauspicious beginning would turn out to be quite indicative of future events. Ireland showed glimpses of the talent that saw him named City's Player of the Season in 2009, but despite being named Aston Villa Fans' Player of the Season at the end of the dreary year of 2012, Ireland just never quite cut it.

The midfielder would have a few decent matches, but he never seemed to be able to string his good performances out for any length of time. Gerard Houllier stated he needed to work harder. He was loaned to Newcastle and had just two performances. Paul Lambert certainly never rated him highly -- most of us aren't even positive he's alive at this time. His last league appearance in claret and blue came in December, against Wigan. All in all, Ireland had 55 appearances in three seasons with Villa, scoring one goal in the process.

So now comes the hard part. Villa have to know they'll take a hit on the £8m they "spent" on Ireland (ie, the £8m less they should have had for Milner), but finding a club that will meet his £65,000 per week wages? That'll be a tricky one. Hope Ireland can find pink paint and gold flooring to decorate his mansion in Russia. Or perhaps China.

Daniel Johnson signs new contract

2013-06-13T12:04:05Z

Aston Villa have announced that Daniel Johnson has signed a new two-year contract with the club. The 20 year old midfielder has been with the Villa academy since 2010, captaining the side at both the U18 and U19 level. Although Johnson was included in a few match-day squads last season, he has yet to make his full debut with Villa. He did play five games while on loan with Yeovil Town, however.

It's always great to have Villa youth sign on for more time at the club -- the Academy is one of the best in England and most recently, it's produced the likes of Nathan Baker, Andi Weimann, and, of course, Gabby Agbonlahor. As for Johnson, he looked great in the 2011-2012 NextGen series, scoring three goals while leading the squad to the quarter-finals. This year's U21 squad finished second in their group, behind Everton.

Congrats, Daniel, and we look forward to watching your game progress!

Massimo Ambrosini, Milan part ways

2013-06-12T12:37:11Z

AC Milan have confirmed that Massimo Ambrosini is able to leave the club on a free transfer this summer. The rossoneri captain has been with the club since 1995, after starting his career at Cesena. He inherited the armband from club legend Paolo Maldini at the start of the 2009-2010 season.

At 36 years old, the midfielder has had a good, long career. During his 18 years at Milan, Ambrosini collected numerous honors. The rossoneri won the scudetto four times, most recently in 2010-2011. They also won the Coppa Italia once and, perhaps most importantly, won the Champions League twice, in 2003 and 2007. He also earned 35 caps with the azzurri.

But despite his successful career, it seems Ambro is not quite ready to hang up his boots -- nor is he set to go play in Major League Soccer. Currently West Ham are in talks with Ambrosini over bringing the midfielder to the Premier League.