Sherwood wanted Gayle or Adebayor to ease Jordan pressure

Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood wanted to bring in Crystal Palace’s Dwight Gayle or Tottenham Hotspur’s Emmanuel Adebayor in order to lift the pressure on summer signing Jordan Ayew, via the Birmingham Mail.

Ayew signed for Villa over the summer from Lorient for a fee of £8.5 million (fee via the Mail report), but he has really struggled and is yet to score for his new club.

The report from the Mail suggests that over the summer, Sherwood was aware that it may take time for Ayew, who he personally wanted, to settle which is why he wanted either Gayle or Adebayor.

Sherwood knows Adebayor from his time at Spurs with the Togolese’s form picking up once Sherwood took charge at White Hart Lane.

He would be available to sign for free in the January transfer window after his contract with Spurs was terminated. However, the Premier League regulations prevent him from joining before then.

With Gayle starting to see more game time at Palace, he may not be available and, if Ayew is still struggling, Sherwood will probably have to make a move.

However, Sherwood may not be Villa manager if Ayew continues to struggle, with pressure continuing to mount on him to produce better results.