Ludwig Augustinsson missed Aston Villa’s EFL Cup win over Bolton Wanderers due to a knee injury, which was a massive blow as he’d likely have featured in the game. The 28-year-old has yet to make an appearance for Villa in any competition since his loan move from Sevilla in July.
Read Aston Villa was critical of the deal for Augustinsson as Lucas Digne is first-choice at left-back while Ashley Young is second-choice, but the Swedish international has been in the matchday squad ever since he arrived. It just remains to be seen when he’ll feature.
Digne has played every minute of every game across the board this season, so Gerrard isn’t likely to take him out of the starting lineup unless injury struck. But Villa might be playing the long game with Augustinsson because he could turn his loan move permanent next summer, coinciding with Young’s contract expiring.
That being said, the 28-year-old will want playing time until that point, however, as Villa won’t want to keep him if they haven’t seen him play in England. Augustinsson may not want to remain in the Midlands if he’s spending the entire season on the bench either.
In other news, Steven Gerrard could drop Danny Ings against West Ham
