Asked about a potentialmove to bring Balogun back to English football, ex-Villa striker Collymore - speaking in association withBetTOM - toldGOAL: “I'm always sceptical of World Cup players because it's kind of like they've been there for a four-year cycle for their countries and playing for various teams.
“I was chatting to a couple of friends about the goalkeepers - the DR Congo goalkeeper that did very well - and the World Cup is a sort of shop window, but it still is only two, three, four games whereby you're kind of proving yourself on a stage. I'm sure that Unai Emery and the staff at Aston Villa will be looking at players that have done the business over a number of years and Balogun wouldn't necessarily fit into that.
“I'm sure that Villa will be linked with players that have done well in the World Cup. I know that Suzuki, the Japanese goalkeeper, he's a different kettle of fish because not only is he his country's number one, but he's a burgeoning young goalkeeper in club football - so he would make sense.
“Balogun? Not so sure. The one player actually that I think has done well is Brian Brobbey. I know that he's already at Sunderland, he's under contract etc etc. He's probably the best non-goal scoring striker that I've seen for quite some time because he occupies defenders, he turns them, he twists them.
“But I think that with Brobbey you would need a system that plays him alongside a central striker, and Villa don't do that - effectively a 4-3-3. I think that it's going to be narrowed down to, yes, if Morgan Rogers goes, somebody that can play in an advanced central midfield position, but I think that their priorities have been known for quite some time.
“If the goalkeeper ends up going, Emi Martinez - he might end up winning the World Cup again and might say there's the time I need to go - that would be one. There'd be room with Suzuki.
“But I think with Villa it's wide pace to get the best out of balls into the box to Ollie Watkins. Ollie will be in a Villa shirt for another two, three, four years, so I think the priority will be getting good service to him - which wasn't always the case last season.”