There could be a large turnover of players at Aston Villa this summer, with nine first-teamer out on loan (Jed Steer, Matt Targett, Frederic Guilbert, Conor Hourihane, Trezeguet, Anwar El Ghazi, Wesley, Keinan Davis) and seven more struggling for regular playing time (Kortney Hause, Ashley Young, Morgan Sanson, Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia, Bertrand Traore, Danny Ings).
A growing number of pundits believe one of the first casualties could be Sanson, however. Kevin Phillips recently tipped the 27-year-old to be sold when the transfer window opens and Gabriel Agbonlahor predicted the same days ago.
He told Football Insider: “He is one of the players that Steven Gerrard will probably move on. He will want to move on and play regularly. If Steven Gerrard’s got a transfer window to bring in more players and you’ve not been playing before the transfer window, what chance have you got playing next season? Sanson himself will want to move on and play football.”
Sanson has amassed less than 700 minutes of playing time since joining Villa from Olympique Marseilles in January 2021. Gerrard is reportedly open to selling the 27-year-old for £10m this summer and is in the market for an established defensive-midfielder, so this could be Sanson’s final season in the Midlands.
Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Marvelous Nakamba were all preferred over the uncapped Frenchman this season, and even Tim Iroegbunam is starting ahead of Sanson in the Premier League, so a move away would suit all parties.
In other news, Kevin Phillips tips Aston Villa to sell Morgan Sanson this summer
