There are four American midfielders at the moment that I’d be be happy to see join Villa if we had room to use them; Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan are more than capable of fitting in on the flanks, Stuart Holden would be a useful creative addition in the centre and Michael Bradley would be my choice of a holding, box-to-box water carrier in the middle.

The key being if we had room to use them which I think rules all of them out right at this precise moment in time, but if we consider the not-too-future situation in central midfield, things look a little different. Just look at the current crop of central midfielders and think about which of them is likely to still be with us next season.

Obviously Jean Makoun and Fabian Delph have futures, Hogg and Bannan have recently agreed new contracts after making great impressions. That’s four we can feel reasonably certain will be involved next season, but what of the rest?

Nigel Reo-Coker‘s contract expires this summer and he’s already rejected the offer of an extension as he wants more money. Isn’t going to happen, he looks to be off unless he backs down on his wage demands. It may already be too late though.

Two other players with contracts expiring this summer are Moustapha Salifou and Isaiah Osbourne. Salifou has one bench appearance to his name, Osbourne has sat on the bench four times this season, making it onto the pitch once; Vienna. The chances of either player being with the club next season are practically zero.

Robert Pires only joined on a short term deal until the end of the season and despite scoring against Blackburn in the FA Cup, there’s unlikely to be much of a call to bring him back next season.

Question marks have to be placed over the heads of Stephen Ireland and Stiliyan Petrov. So far, Ireland’s move to Aston Villa has been a disaster, but it’s unclear whether all relevant parties have given up completely yet. Even if they have, moving him on won’t be straightforward. Or cheap.

Petrov’s legs are looking increasingly weary, but he’s contracted until 2013 and even at 32 this summer, there must be some thought about cashing in on whatever value he might hold. Think about what he will cost to keep, what he can contribute and what his valuation will be at the end of 2011/12 season when he’ll be knocking on the door of 33 years old with another 12 months still on his contract.

Why loan?

ESPN seem to have jumped the gun somewhat in declaring that Bradley is definitely coming to Villa on loan, Gerard Houllier was reluctant to discuss it after the Blackburn game, but confirmed discussions were well in hand.

I would suggest that Bradley would be an excellent replacement for Reo-Coker; he’s mobile, well motivated, disciplined, just as happy to put a tackle in as Reo-Coker, but has superior passing skills and vision in my opinion. He’d also be a good deal cheaper I imagine.

But what would be the point of having Reo-Coker and Bradley at the club for the rest of the season and then losing both players in May?

Well, not much, except I’d have to assume that it would provide something of a hedge to avoid leaving ourselves high and dry in the summer without exploring available options. Consider it a long term trial. Bradley could come to Villa for four or five months, then if Reo-Coker does go and Bradley has impressed, you’d have to assume that we’d be in pole position to sign him permanently.

If it doesn’t work out and/or Reo-Coker ends up staying, what have we lost? Five months wages, maybe a loan fee.

So, assuming this loan move goes though, if it’s a strategy to secure the opportunity to bring in a quality player permanently, it’s great. But if it’s just a loan for the sake of bringing in another central midfielder, it seems pretty pointless to me.

I’m going to have to assume it’s the former, the latter just doesn’t make any sense.

Bradley reportedly has suitors in Turkey and Italy, as Match Fit USA notes; his decline in standing at Monchengladbach is palpable and the club has already brought his replacement in, there’s no question that he’s on the move sooner rather than later.

There have been whispers of one more secret target left on Houllier’s list this past week and it appears a Michael Bradley shaped cat has now been let out the bag. It’s another unconventional move following the pattern set by the acquisition of Walker, Makoun and Bent. With that kind of form, who’d argue against this?

Not me, I look forward to hearing this one confirmed. UPDATE: This deal has now gone through.