As part of our summer transfer window strategy, Aston Villa will need to make important decisions on the futures of those returning to the club from loan spells this past season.
From the first-team squad, 11 players moved on temporarily over the past year, with all of their respective stints drawing to a close at the end of June.
READ MORE: Six Villa players who face potentially uncertain future this summer analysed
While some will move on, perhaps on loan again or permanently, Unai Emery may wish to integrate others back into his plans, and so along with Monchi and our management team who will assess all options as we look to balance our books as well as improve the squad, it promises to be a busy period for all concerned.
Particularly with big decisions needed on those currently in the first-team squad and potential signings of our own, all these aspects will likely be linked as we consider all avenues in the coming months.
Joe Gauci
With Robin Olsen moving on to join Malmo as a free agent, that opens up a spot in our pecking order to provide depth and competition between the posts.
An injury limited the 24-year-old Australian international during his spell with Barnsley as he made just seven appearances, but that experience combined with previously working with Emiliano Martinez and the staff at Bodymoor Heath, will hopefully have made him a better player since joining us last year.
Villa evidently saw something in Gauci that led to us signing the Aussie shot-stopper, and with question marks over Martinez’s future, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he stayed with the squad over pre-season and staked his claim for the lead back-up role.
Filip Marschall
The 22-year-old has had a few loan stints elsewhere now, and so the club need to make a decision on his long-term future and decide if that’s with us or not.
Marschall is arguably in a similar situation to Oliwier Zych in that they could be considered as third-choice next season onwards as we want a younger option competing too, but time will tell how active Villa are in the transfer market looking for goalkeepers this summer if we’re forced into a big reshuffle in that department.
Another loan could be ahead, but if a decent offer were to arrive, perhaps we’d consider a permanent exit. Villa strengthened out position last December either way as Marschall penned a new deal.
Kaine Kesler-Hayden
Having emerged as one of our brightest homegrown prospects after coming through the youth ranks, the 22-year-old right-back has gone on to enjoy some impressive loan spells over the past two campaigns, the latest of which was with Preston North End.
Kesler-Hayden has gradually stepped up his level during that period, and he’s likely now ready to join a side competing at the top-end of the Championship table, or perhaps even at the lower-end of the Premier League.
Ideally, we’d integrate him into the squad and keep him with us as he could develop into a top player, and while there’s hope that could still happen, PSR concerns arguably make him an obvious choice to be sold this summer to help our financial position.
Kosta Nedeljkovic
It was disappointing to see Nedeljkovic loaned out this past season, as after making a positive impression in pre-season last summer, it was felt that he could make a case to at least put pressure on Matty Cash for the right-back starting role.
Instead, Villa appeared to move in a different direction having also signed Andres Garcia, and with RB Leipzig confirming that they have an option to buy in the agreement for the talented young Serbian international, we could be bidding farewell to him this summer. The 19-year-old made 11 appearances in the second-half of the season, and so it remains to be seen if he did enough to convince the Bundesliga outfit to sign him outright.
It would seemingly require a significant shift in the current approach to possibly move Cash on if a bid came in to clear the path for Nedeljkovic and Kesler-Hayden, but that disappointingly seems the more unlikely outcome at this stage.
Alex Moreno
After such a promising start to his time at Villa, Moreno found himself loaned out to Nottingham Forest last summer where he went on to make 19 appearances and helped our Premier League rivals to qualify for Europe.
With Ian Maatsen pushing to displace Lucas Digne as our first-choice left-back, competition is already fierce in that department, and so it doesn’t appear as though the Spaniard has a way back into the fold.
That said, having failed to qualify for the Champions League and with difficult decisions likely ahead coupled with Digne being one of our top earners on a contract that has just over 12 months left on it, if he departs, could that open the door for Moreno to provide depth behind Maatsen next season?
Samuel Iling-Junior
The 21-year-old had two loan moves this past season, as after initially joining Bologna last summer, he went to Middlesbrough in January and made 16 appearances in a more productive spell.
Similarly to Moreno, much will depend on whether or not we decide to move Digne on as Iling-Junior operated as a left-back on a consistent run in the Middlesbrough line-up, and so he could be developed into a back-up option for Maatsen.
Another loan deal could be the most likely outcome, while if a good enough offer comes in, Villa may even be tempted to take a profit now if it makes financial sense.
Leander Dendoncker
The Belgian midfielder is now surplus to requirements at Villa, as with the quality and competition for places we have in that department, he is far down the pecking order and has to be moved on.
Reports during the campaign have suggested that Anderlecht are unlikely to exercise their option to buy, and with another year remaining on his Villa deal, we will face a conundrum on his future this summer it seems.
Ideally, he’s caught the attention of another interested party who will make an offer to sign him permanently, as even if we lose a key midfield figure in the coming months, Dendoncker can’t be considered the solution, especially when taking the next man on this list into consideration.
Enzo Barrenechea
Barrenechea looked a gem of a player when he featured for us in pre-season last summer, and he’s only built on that positive impression during a productive loan spell with Valencia.
The 24-year-old featured on 33 occasions this past season, and that would have been an excellent opportunity for him to gain experience and further develop his game.
He looks a great fit for Emery’s system and style of play, and although it would come as no surprise if there is real interest in him this summer, Villa should give serious thought to keeping him over pre-season at least to assess him properly before potentially handing a top player to another club.
Emiliano Buendia
Off the back of his serious knee injury, Emery was clear that Buendia needed to play, and ultimately he was unlikely to get too many opportunities at Villa given our competition for places.
His stint at Bayer Leverkusen saw him score two goals in 14 outings, as he totalled 321 minutes of football, and time will tell whether or not he’s done enough to secure a second chance at Villa or if we’ll try to find a new permanent solution this summer.
With Marco Asensio potentially not being signed outright after his loan spell with us and with Villa having to be strategic and prudent in the market with PSR and UEFA financial rules in mind, could Buendia re-emerge as a depth option next season behind the likes of Morgan Rogers and Donyell Malen as we’ll need a strong squad to compete on multiple fronts again?
Philippe Coutinho
Sell or terminate the contract. There’s no path back to Villa for the Brazilian playmaker now and he’s ultimately draining resources if we’re contributing towards his salary while playing at Vasco da Gama.
Villa will no doubt take the sensible financial option that gives us as much flexibility as possible, but with 12 months remaining on his deal, it would suit all parties to just split ways now if possible, but he’ll most certainly leave as a free agent next year if no compromise can be found.
Lewis Dobbin
Talks were touted for Norwich City to extend his loan stay through to next season, and so it remains to be seen if that materialises.
It’s unlikely that the 22-year-old will carve out a role at Villa at this stage, and so another year in the Championship to develop and improve will hopefully stand him in good stead to either break into the squad next summer or earn a permanent move elsewhere to allow us to try and make a profit on him.
Agree with the above? Who should Villa keep or look to move on again this summer?
