Aston Villa have confirmed that Kaine Kesler-Hayden has joined Preston North End on loan for the upcoming season.
The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the best young prospects at the club in recent years, having impressed at youth level and played a key role in our path to winning the FA Youth Cup in 2021.
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After a string of loan stints elsewhere, he has been part of Unai Emery’s plans through pre-season so far this summer, and so it had been hoped that he would be kept with the senior squad this season for the next stage of his development.
However, as confirmed by the club’s statement, Kesler-Hayden has now joined Preston on loan, and so it’s hoped that it proves to be a productive and successful loan spell for the talented youngster.
It could be argued that he was capable of offering an important depth option this season at right-back or in a more advanced role on the right side, with Villa looking to compete across multiple competitions.
That said, with Matty Cash ahead of him in the pecking order, and considering the excellent impact and impression that Kosta Nedeljkovic has made so far this summer, Emery is seemingly convinced that he has enough in that department for the upcoming campaign, and believes another loan stint would be more beneficial for Kesler-Hayden’s development.
“I had a chat with the gaffer at Villa and he thought the best thing for me to do was to get another season of minutes under my belt and a bit more experience,” he told Preston’s official site. “I think this is the best place for me to do that.”
As with all of our young players moving out on loan for the upcoming campaign, it’s hoped that it proves to be a positive experience for Kesler-Hayden to gain valuable playing time to improve and develop, and that in turn will hopefully give him a stronger foundation on which he can stake his claim to be a key part of Villa’s plans in the long-term future.
Naturally, there is also the possibility that it could eventually lead to a permanent sale if we consider cashing in on another Academy product, but in this instance, ideally, he will go on to make his mark in a Villa shirt.