Frederic Guilbert was brought back in from the cold by Steven Gerrard this summer and given the chance to prove his worth during Aston Villa’s tour of Australia, but it doesn’t appear he’s done enough to convince his manager that he’s worth retaining.
The 27-year-old didn’t feature in Villa’s 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar on July 20 and Gerrard confirmed it wasn’t due to injury. Instead, Matty Cash started at right-back and was replaced by Kaine Kesler Hayden at the break.
It was a similar story in Villa’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United on July 23 with Cash started the game and Kesler Hayden finishing it, so has Gerrard made a decision on Guilbert?
The Villa manager was considering replacing the 27-year-old with Kesler Hayden well before pre-season but Guilbert seemingly impressed Gerrard with his attitude on the training ground to stake a claim to stay.
Weeks later, however, and it seems the Frenchman may be surplus to requirements again. Guilbert has made 32 appearances in all competitions for Villa since his 2019-move from SM Caen, scoring three goals with three assists, but might he played his final game for the club?
Gerrard wants to trim the deadwood from the squad this summer, so he doesn’t need three right-backs to take into the season.
In other news, Steven Gerrard must sell Anwar El Ghazi to trim ‘bloated squad’
