Leyton Orient backed to seal Aston Villa deal to fix glaring O's issue | OneFootball

Leyton Orient have been backed to complete a loan deal for Aston Villa youngster Finley Munroe, who is currently on loan at Swindon Town.

Leyton Orient are in the race to sign Finley Munroe from Aston Villa in January, should the Premier League club recall him from his current loan stint at Swindon Town.

Championship outfit Preston and Orient are keen on Munroe, who has notched an impressive return of two goals and seven assists in League Two this term, proving his attacking credentials from the backline.

Amid the 20-year-old's strong performances, Swindon sit second in the fourth tier, and are vying to secure promotion back to League One for the first time since being relegated from the third tier in 2021.

Ian Holloway's side defeated Gillingham 2-0 last time out, while losing Munroe would come as a clear dent to their top-three credentials.

Leyton Orient backed to make defensive reinforcements amid Finley Munroe interest

Richie Wellens's Orient find themselves just one point clear of the League One drop zone, courtesy of their 3-1 defeat to Wimbledon on New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, Football League World asked our O's fan pundit, Alex Rose, if he would welcome the addition of Munroe, one of the top assist-making defenders in the country.

Alex said: "He's not a player that I know too much about. But if there's one area of the pitch where all Orient fans know that we really need to strengthen, it's across the backline. We're probably going to need a new goalkeeper and two or three new defenders in this window.

"We're conceding four goals a game, pretty much, very regularly. With regards to a left-back, the fact that he's got assists is a good thing, but what we really need is some experienced League One players to come in and stop the ball going in at that side of the pitch because we're scoring for fun, but we're conceding at a rate of knots as well.

"Of course we'd welcome it."

Finley Munroe could favour Leyton Orient move over Preston switch

Munroe's exploits for Swindon in League Two suggest that he is capable of performing in a higher division than the fourth tier, which has beckoned interest from both League One strugglers Orient and Championship playoff hopefuls Preston.

However, when deciding on his next move, the Aston Villa academy graduate may favour a move to the third tier over joining North End, as competition for game time will be tougher at Championship level.

Furthermore, as summarised by Alex, Orient need wholesale changes in their backline, and Munroe's presence could help Wellens's men steer themselves clear of the League One drop zone.

Just last season, the O's enjoyed securing a playoff spot, while the congested nature of the third-tier table means that a top-half finish remains a possibility this term, should Wellens utilise the January transfer window to rectify his side's leaky defence.

The London club face a tough task next time out on Saturday, as they face a Cardiff City outfit who deservedly occupy top-spot in League One.