According to reports in The Mirror, Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has made an audacious attempt to sign out-of-favour Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere.

The Mirror says that having already brought the likes of John Terry and Glenn Whelan to Villa Park already this summer, Steve Bruce hopes that a big contract and bonuses could tempt the 25-year-old to drop down a division to the Championship.

While they may be one of the favourites to win promotion to the Premier League this term, the Midlands outfit took just one point from their opening two league matches, including a heavy 3-0 defeat to Cardiff City in the Welsh capital on Saturday.

Villa would prefer to bring the England international in on a loan deal, but The Mirror says that Arsenal would prefer to sell him on a permanent deal considering he has less than one year left on his contract.

Here are three reasons Aston Villa should avoid trying to sign Wilshere…

Competition

Aston Villa may be interested in bringing Wilshere to the Championship, but they could be facing a losing battle because if the 25-year-old does seal a move away from Arsenal, as he looks to have plenty of potential suitors.

The Mirror says that Newcastle United and Swansea City are both interested in keeping him in the Premier League and that Serie A outfit Sampdoria are also keen, while The Sun on August 13 says that West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Juventus, Roma and Lazio also want the England international.

With that competition Villa shouldn’t be wasting time trying to get Wilshere when they could be focusing on targeting another player, or on their disappointing start to their Championship campaign.

Financial implications

While Wilshere would obviously be a brilliant signing for Villa at Championship level, the financial implications of the deal perhaps mean that the club should avoid moving for him at any cost.

The Mirror says that Arsenal would prefer to sell him permanently considering he has less than a year left on his contract, and the Daily Star reported last month that they could even demand a fee of £20m for the 25-year-old – something that would be way out of Villa’s price as they look to stay within the FFP regulations following their extensive spending last year.

Of course, his wages would be significantly high too and the England international would need to heavily compromise on those for the move to go ahead.

Injury record

One of the main reasons Wilshere looks set to leave Arsenal either now or next year is because of the injury problems he has suffered over the past few seasons.

The 25-year-old did well during a loan spell with Bournemouth last term, but he missed the end of the campaign and most of pre-season with a fractured leg and that would have to be a concern if he did move to Villa Park.

Automatic promotion back to the Premier League is the aim for Villa this season and they can’t really afford to take too many risks as they look to achieve that – signing someone with injury history Wilshere has would be doing exactly that.

Do you agree, Villa fans? Let us know below.