Frederic Guilbert is back at Aston Villa after a loan spell with Racing Strasbourg and has a difficult task on his hands to claim a starting place this season.
Matty Cash is currently Dean Smith’s first choice at right-back and hasn’t put a foot wrong since joining from Nottingham Forest last summer, but Guilbert isn’t giving up and has been visibly working hard in pre-season training to impress.
The 26-year-old posted two pictures on his Instagram story, one from teammate Ashley Young of a session with Marvelous Nakamba at Bodymoor Heath and the other of himself smiling.
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Guilbert has shown he’s unwilling to waste a season out of the starting eleven and will join another side on loan if he’s not getting first-team football, so this campaign could be make or break.
The uncapped Frenchman has made 31 appearances in all competitions since joining Villa from SM Caen in January 2019, scoring two goals with two assists. Guilbert hasn’t featured for the Midlands outfit since 2020, however, so the writing may be on the wall if Cash stays fit and maintains his consistency. Time will tell.
