Morgan Sanson appears to be having a positive impact at Aston Villa after joining from Marseille last week; and ahead of tonight’s Premier League meeting with West Ham United, former Villa defender Alan Hutton said the French midfielder could soon be given a start at the expense of John McGinn.
He told Football Insider: “Everything I hear is that he’s quite like John McGinn in a way and that’s from a number of different people that I’ve heard that, so I’m excited to see him, he’s obviously going to have to bide his time, Villa are playing very well at the moment.
“It’s going to be difficult for him to get in, I know that. I think John McGinn and Douglas Luiz have done ever so good but there could be a possibility of a rotation so we can have a look at him.”
Sanson made 157 appearances in all competitions for Marseille, scoring 25 goals and supplying 22 assists. This season, he has had a hand in five goals from 10 Ligue 1 starts, creating 13 chances, completing 77.8% of his 320 passes and averaging a tackle (21) or interception (9) every 28 minutes (WhoScored).
He is more adept at turning over possession than creating chances, but his inclusion would allow midfielders more freedom to affect the game in the final third, particularly McGinn.
It’s hard to see the 26-year-old being permanently dropped for Sanson, but the Frenchman’s arrival is probably bad news for Marvelous Nakamba. He is the defensive-minded player Dean Smith has called upon but he might be pushed down the pecking order now.
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Ahead of tonight’s meeting with West Ham, Villa are coming off the back of a win over Southampton, so Smith might reward his players by naming an unchanged XI.
Nevertheless, it’s a good dilemma for the manager to have, with Sanson doing his best to impress.
