Aston Villa's Bournemouth defeat raises questions about Bizot and the January transfer window

There weren't many positives to take from Aston Villa's defeat against Bournemouth, but if there was one individual performance that concerned me more than anything else on Wednesday evening, it was Marco Bizot's.

I thought Bizot did a good job for Villa last season, to the extent that I wasn't particularly concerned whenever he was called upon to deputise in goal. We had Emiliano Martínez as our first-choice goalkeeper at that stage, but there was a level of confidence in the backup that I hadn't always felt in previous seasons.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about what I've seen from him so far this campaign.

I thought he looked poor in the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain, where I had concerns about his involvement in both goals, and there have been other moments against Brighton and Coventry where he hasn't looked particularly convincing. Wednesday evening was another example, and with the possibility of Zion Suzuki being unavailable in January, I think Villa have a situation that deserves some serious consideration.

The first Bournemouth goal was an interesting one because I appreciate that some people might think I'm being harsh on the goalkeeper. The ball comes into the six-yard box without a great deal of pace, and while the defending wasn't particularly good, I couldn't understand why Bizot remained rooted to his line rather than attempting to come and claim it.

For me, that should be the goalkeeper's territory, although I'm prepared to accept that others might view the situation differently.

I don't think there's much room for disagreement about the second goal, however, because his reaction was extremely poor and ultimately killed the game from Villa's perspective.

He'd actually made a decent save shortly beforehand, which resulted in the corner, but what followed was a really disappointing piece of goalkeeping. There were bodies in front of him, but the speed of his reaction was nowhere near good enough, and at 2-0 down shortly after half-time, the task facing an already disjointed Villa side became considerably more difficult.

I wouldn't blame him for the third goal, which involved poor defending elsewhere, but by that stage the damage had already been done.

The concern isn't simply that Bizot has had one disappointing evening. It's that every time I've watched him this season, I've found myself becoming increasingly uncomfortable about the prospect of him having to play regularly.

Suzuki has been excellent since arriving at Aston Villa, and I think he's established himself very quickly as one of the most important players in this team. His performances have been so encouraging that we've almost stopped discussing the goalkeeping position, which is a considerable achievement when you remember the standards Martínez set during his time at the club.

The problem is that Suzuki could be unavailable during January because of international commitments, and if Villa are required to play five, six or seven matches without him, I'm not particularly comfortable with the prospect of Bizot being our only realistic senior option.

There's an argument that his performances might improve with a consistent run of games, and I wouldn't completely dismiss that possibility. Goalkeepers can struggle when they're playing sporadically, particularly when the defence in front of them changes regularly, but we're now several months into the season and I haven't seen enough to convince me that his difficulties are simply down to a lack of rhythm.

I do wonder whether Villa might explore the loan market when January arrives, potentially bringing in an experienced goalkeeper who could provide some additional security while Suzuki is away.

That wouldn't be a straightforward solution, particularly because any new arrival wouldn't be eligible for Villa's remaining Champions League league-phase fixtures, but there are Premier League matches to consider as well, and the club will have to weigh up whether the existing options are sufficient.

It's also worth remembering that Suzuki could pick up an injury at any point, and the last thing Villa need is to find themselves relying on a goalkeeper who is struggling for confidence during such an important stage of the season.

I don't enjoy being particularly critical of individual players, and Bizot deserves recognition for the job he did last season, but there's no point pretending that his performances haven't been concerning.

Aston Villa have worked extremely hard to build a squad capable of competing at the level we're currently operating at, and the goalkeeping position is too important to leave anything to chance.

Whether that means bringing somebody in during January or finding a way to restore Bizot's confidence, it's something I think the club need to address before Suzuki becomes unavailable.