Frederic Guilbert left Aston Villa at the end of the January transfer window and joined Strasbourg on loan until the end of the season, but Gabriel Agbonlahor believes he could seek a permanent exit this summer.
Guilbert has been short of playing time in his two years at Villa Park and is unlikely to nail down a starting place at right-back next season with Matty Cash ahead of him in the pecking order, so Agbonlahor believes the 26-year-old might request a permanent transfer.
The ex-Villa striker told Football Insider: “I think he will definitely try and leave permanently. Matty Cash is one of the best right-backs in the league. You’ve got no chance of getting game time when he’s playing.
“It’s just one of those things that happen in football. It’s unlucky but he’ll definitely be looking to move on and play as first choice somewhere.”
Guilbert has made only two appearances for Villa this season, the last of which came back in October (Transfermarkt).
Dean Smith has preferred Cash and Ahmed Elmohamady over the Frenchman, so the 26-year-old sought a loan move away to ensure that his development didn’t stall. If Guilbert doesn’t believe anything will change at Villa next season, will he want to stick around?
The 26-year-old has made a total of 31 appearances since joining from SM Caen in 2019. He was a regular in his second season but lost his place due to a knee injury after football restarted last summer, and he may not get the nod again unless Cash is ruled out for a lengthy period.
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Guilbert will move up to second choice if Elmohamady leaves this summer, but it still means he would likely be stuck on the bench most weeks.
Smith surely would love to have the Frenchman and Cash fighting for one place, but Agbonlahor might be right. Guilbert may want more than sporadic appearances, and he may wish to leave Villa behind him in order to meet that ambition.
