Aston Villa have been given a boost ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers, as Birmingham Live reported that Frederic Guilbert is in contention to feature after recovering from a chest problem.
The 25-year-old has been out of action with an abdominal injury and hasn’t featured for Villa since October’s Carabao Cup defeat to Stoke City. Guilbert hasn’t made a league appearance or been in the matchday squad once this season as Dean Smith has preferred Matty Cash and Ahmed Elmohamady at right-back.
Guilbert joined Villa for £4.5m from Caen in 2019 and has gone on to make 31 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and supplying two assists. However, with strong competition for the right-back berth at Villa Park, his long-term future in the Midlands is uncertain.
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Cash has been a revelation since joining from Nottingham Forest over the summer, so it’s hard to see him losing his place. Elmohamady is out of contract in 2021 and isn’t expected to renew that deal, so Guilbert might be promoted to backup should he leave next year.
Whether he’s happy with a subsidiary role remains to be seen, though.
In other news, Dean Smith has downplayed one Aston Villa player’s chances of facing Wolves on Saturday.
