Following Matt Targett’s exit earlier this month, Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard is expected to trim his squad further in the coming weeks.
Villa have been active in the transfer market already having signed Philippe Coutinho and Robin Olsen on permanent deals after their loan spells at the club last season, while the services of Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos have also secured.
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As Gerrard continues to stamp his mark on the squad, Targett was the first to leave in a £15m move to Newcastle Utd, as confirmed by the club, having joined them on loan in January, and it’s likely that there will be more that follow.
Beyond those mentioned below, Frederic Guilbert, Keinan Davis, Lovre Kalinic, Wesley and Jed Steer are among others who could move on, as Gerrard looks to dwindle the number of fringe players around Bodymoor Heath too.
Trezeguet
After recovering from a serious knee injury, the 27-year-old was loaned out to Basaksehir in February and he went on to be involved in 10 goals in just 13 league outings.
Trezeguet made an important contribution to the club on our return to the Premier League and that shouldn’t be easily forgotten, but ultimately with a new manager with new ideas who is bringing in and preferring other players in his position, it feels as though the Egyptian international’s time at the club is coming to a natural end.
It will be a move that suits all parties, but it remains to be seen if an offer presents itself that everyone is happy to accept.
Anwar El Ghazi
A very similar situation to that of Trezeguet, in that El Ghazi now faces competition from the likes of Emiliano Buendia and Philippe Coutinho, while the system switch also limits his suitability to Gerrard’s plans.
Again, he was an important figure for us in our return to achieving Premier League stability, but we’ve got to a position now where we need to kick on with players capable of competing at a higher level.
He will feel as though he still has much more to offer than just being a squad player, and so it’s hoped that we can find a solution for all concerned.
Bertrand Traore
Traore endured a frustrating second half of last season with injuries consistently hampering him and preventing him from showing Gerrard what he could offer.
Similarly to those mentioned above, he has slipped down the pecking order in terms of the creative and attacking players at Gerrard’s disposal, and it’s questionable as to how much he would feature next year.
He’s another player who is too talented to just sit on the bench, and so it would come as no surprise if he were to move on this summer with no guarantees over his playing time.
Morgan Sanson
This will perhaps be one the more unfortunate exits as there is still a strong belief that there is a top player in Sanson at Gerrard’s disposal just waiting to show his true quality.
It hasn’t worked out for him since arriving at Villa, largely due to the injury woes that he has suffered with. However, when he has featured, he has more often than not made a positive impact on our game.
Nevertheless, with competition stepping up in midfield following the arrival of Kamara, time will tell if that’s another nudge towards the exit door for Sanson, or perhaps if the likes of Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba are in trouble instead and Sanson hopefully gets another shot next season.
Kortney Hause
Having already been left frustrated with a depth role at Villa over the past two seasons, Hause could consider his options elsewhere for a more prominent role.
With Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa ahead of him, Calum Chambers also featured more heavily last season as one of Gerrard’s signings, and now with the addition of Carlos too, it really does limit how involved Hause will be.
The Villa boss spoke highly of him after his arrival at the club, but unless that translates into appearances and opportunities to play, then Hause will surely want more than just to remain at Villa as a back-up option.