[G Richards]

We should sign Villa if he is available. He is better than any of our other strikers bar Torres. Should Nando get injured we would have a big drop in effectiveness in this system, because none of the other strikers offer the pace and goal threat Nando does. Villa would be a great replacement for Nando in a 4-2-3-1.

Obviously he is way too good/expensive to be a mere replacement. He can also play in an orthodox front pairing, so that gives us more options.

What I'm not sure about is whether Villa can play in one of the three behind Nando in a 4-2-3-1. If he can do this then we're in business. That's the sort of knowledge Rafa and his scouts woud have, whereas on a fan forum we're speculating really.