MONEYBAGS VILLA WON’T SELL JACK TO RAISE CASH
Saints: We were right to let Targett go
DEAN SMITH insists that Aston Villa can splash the cash and keep their star players in January.
The Villa boss dismissed suggestions that the club would have to scrap transfer plans to spend again next month due to Financial Fair Play rules.
Despite Villa spending £120million on new players in the summer, Smith (above, with John Terry) said: “I’m not looking for any players to go. Contrary to popular belief we are not under pressure for players to leave.
“We have two wealthy owners who want to move this club forward. To do that you keep your best players and add better players to the squad. We have a healthy list of possibilities.”
Smith also insisted that talk of a £60m buyout clause on skipper Jack Grealish is not true.
But Jonathan Kodjia could be on his way next month, despite scoring twice in the 5-0 Carabo Cup win over a youthful Liverpool side in midweek.
Smith insisted: “We have not got any clauses in any contracts that allow people to buy players for a certain amount of money. But there may be outgoings.
“With the exception of Leicester no-one has had an easy ride at Villa Park, and I can see that continuing. It’s down to us to perform, and our supporters have been our 12th man.”
Smith blamed himself for last week’s defeat at Sheffield United when Villa failed to trouble the Blades enough and Grealish missed a late penalty.
“I should have asked them to go toe-to-toe with them in the second half, and we didn’t,” he added.
vVilla Park, 3pm
RALPH HASENHUTTL says he has no regrets about selling Matt Targett to Aston Villa, despite Southampton’s pitiful defensive record.
Targett will come up against his former club today for the first time since completing a £12million summer move to Villa.
Since Austrian Hasenhuttl was appointed last December Saints have conceded 72 goals in 40 games.
But Hasenhuttl, who is on the hunt for new defenders when the transfer window opens next month, said: “I still stand by that decision.
“We had a few other options in the summer which, finally, we couldn’t realise. But it was Moussa Djenepo we got, and Moussa has brought us a few points so far.
“Matt was the back-up for Ryan Bertrand. If I had known that we wouldn’t have got anyone in then I wouldn’t have let him go.
“But if we didn’t, then I wouldn’t have been able to bring Moussa in so it’s always a bit difficult if you can only buy players when you sell one.
“You have to choose what is the best and what really helps us.” If they fail to win at Villa Park, Saints know they will be spending Christmas in the relegation zone, but Hasenhuttl is refusing to panic after leading them to safety last season.
He said: “When you are in the relegation zone, everyone knows that it is a fight for staying in the league.
“Last season, some clubs had more points than we had but we knew the way to the end was a long one.
“And we knew from the third or fourth game that this season was going to be a hard fight again to stay in the league.
“It doesn’t mean that we like it because we would have liked to have made a further step earlier which gives you a little bit more confidence, but no problem.
“We don’t work differently if we have more points or less points. We always try to give everything we have, and this is the only way we can go.
“We now have four wins, which is much more than this time last season.
“We speak about 40 points. We have 15 now and two games to go in the first half of the season, so there is still the chance to come over 20.”