Having enjoyed an impressive campaign on loan at Preston North End, Aston Villa will face a crucial decision on the future of Kaine Kesler-Hayden this summer.
The 22-year-old has long been considered one of our top young talents after shining at youth level, and he has continued to make a positive impression out on loan in the Championship.
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After previous stints with Huddersfield Town, MK Dons, Swindon Town and Plymouth Argyle, Kesler-Hayden has spent this season with Preston, making 50 appearances across all competitions and contributing two goals and three assists to go with his defensive duties.
As per Preston’s tweet below, he has evidently made a big impression at the club having collected three end-of-season awards, and so there’s no doubt that this has been another positive and important step in his progression and development.
From a Villa perspective now though, the question remains what comes next. Having signed Andres Garcia in January to add to our right-back options, albeit Kosta Nedeljkovic went out on loan to RB Leipzig and could yet seal a permanent exit in the summer, where does Kesler-Hayden fit into all this?
One option would of course be to sell him permanently with his value continuing to increase, and as we’ve seen in recent transfer windows, we’ve used that strategy of selling homegrown players to help balance our books and fund our own spending with one eye on PSR.
Another would be to loan him out again with a Championship contender next season, hope he continues to improve and gain interest, and perhaps revisit the possibility of a sale next year when he’s potentially raised his value further.
The third option would be to keep him at Villa next season. With two top young talents in that position at Unai Emery’s disposal, could we build for the future with Kesler-Hayden and Garcia, and perhaps consider the idea of moving Matty Cash on instead to help from a financial perspective?
That specific position has been seen as a weakness of ours for some time now and with Axel Disasi having to play there in certain games this season, which has ultimately cost us in some big games, moving Cash on and building with the likes of Garcia and Kesler-Hayden could be a sensible move, provided Emery trusts them and believes that they’re ready for that step up.
It’s a shame that Nedeljkovic is seemingly unlikely to feature in the equation as he has looked a real prospect too, but time will tell if he moves on, and whether or not we continue to create space in the squad to integrate Kesler-Hayden, or look to sell him as part of our wider transfer strategy for the summer.
What should Villa do with Kesler-Hayden? Make him part of our plans moving forward or sell to help with PSR and our own signings?
🏆 Sir Tom Finney Player of the Year
🏆 Players’ Player of the Year
🏆 Young Player of the YearFully deserved, @KaineKeslerHayd. 👏#pnefc pic.twitter.com/LLOfTCNgfJ
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) April 29, 2025
Villa are so lucky to have a talent like this young man He has been a shining light on our dreadful season. We have loaned young fabulous players in the past ie Cameron Archer As supporters of Preston North End we thank you and wish you all the best of luck in the world going forward Many thanls Trevor
Great to hear from you, Trevor. Thanks for the added insight on KKH. Hope next season is a better one for you.