Aston Villa loaned out Dominic Revan to Vanarama National League side Weymouth for the rest of the season and sent Callum Rowe to Hereford United of the National League North until the end of the campaign.
The defensive pair rose to prominence after impressing in the FA Cup defeat to Liverpool this month and Gabby Agbonlahor says it “makes sense” to grant them competitive football at senior level.
The 34-year-old, who came through the Villa academy and played nearly 400 times for the first team, told Football Insider: “Yes, it’s definitely the right thing to do. Under-23s football is good but you can’t beat playing against men week in, week out, in a competitive league.
“It makes sense for them to go and get that experience that a lot of players have done and it’s good for them. Six months experience, come back and re-evaluate what their chances of getting into the first-team are.”
Revan has made 36 appearances for Villa’s under-18s and 48 for the under-23s [Transfermarkt], so it’s about time he had a more regular taste of senior football. The 20-year-old needs to make the step up from youth football, so his stint at Weymouth could be transformative.
With only one first team appearance, namely in that youthful line-up against Liverpool a fortnight ago, it remains to be seen if he will get his break at Villa. Centre-backs Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause and Bjorn Engels stand in Revan’s way of playing, but he could put himself in the shop window for another club if he impresses at Weymouth.
Rowe has made 26 appearances for the under-18s and 38 for the under-23s, so he is also in need of first team football. The Liverpool game is the 21-year-old’s only senior appearance to date, so he’s not getting in ahead of fellow left-backs Neil Taylor or Matt Targett any time soon.
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Agbonlahor is right in saying that the duo need to play competitive senior football for the sake of their development, so Villa will be hoping that Revan and Rowe can impress at their new clubs in the coming weeks and months.
They can both take confidence from their mature performances against a host of Premier League-winning players in the recent FA Cup clash.
