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Dean Smith may have to copy Steve Bruce’s unpopular Mile Jedinak experiment this weekend
Aston Villa face a continuation of their centre-back shortage this weekend. With only Axel Tuanzebe and James Chester as recognised centre-backs in the first-team, an injury to one of them was always going to leave Villa in trouble. Chester has now picked up a knee injury which forced him off in Wales’ clash with Denmark last week.
The Welshman faces a race against time to be fit for Second city derby on Sunday lunchtime.
It leaves Aston Villa fans dreading a solution that was contrived by Steve Bruce at the start of the season. Mile Jedinak featured in nine of Aston Villa’s opening 10 fixtures this season. In all but one of those games, the Australian veteran played at centre-back.
It would be fair to say he did not excel in the role. His lack of pace left him vulnerable against the pace of the Championship and Aston Villa fans near universally hated the experiment.
Since Dean Smith’s arrival, Jedinak has not even played for the club. Instead, he has had to bide his time on the bench.
But with his hands potentially tied this weekend, Smith may have to take a leaf from Bruce’s unpopular 2018-19 playbook.