McLeish eyes January buys

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish could seek reinforcements in the transfer window if his team continue to suffer injury problems.

Goalkeeper Shay Given and midfielder Jermaine Jenas needed to be substituted after picking up hamstring and Achilles injuries respectively in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester United.

Jenas’ injury in particular could prove serious, with the former England international potentially missing the rest of the season should scans determine that he requires surgery.

The midfielder’s absence adds to a list of recent problems in the Villa midfield, which led to the selection of the inexperienced Chris Herd at the weekend.

Regular captain Stiliyan Petrov and Stephen Ireland were named on the bench while recovering from hamstring and foot injuries respectively, while Charles N’Zogbia missed the match after a breach of club discipline.

With Jean Makoun away on loan to Olympiakos, the young trio of Fabian Delph, Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton comprise Villa’s remaining options in midfield, and McLeish is now contemplating reinforcements in the transfer window.

McLeish told The Mirror: “We’ve got to try and trade carefully. But if we have emergencies we have to seriously consider that (buying players) as a club.”

Villa are believed to be attempting to reduce their wage bill, and will reportedly listen to offers for centre-back Carlos Cuellar among others in the transfer window.