Aston Villa have confirmed that Kortney Hause has signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2025.
The 26-year-old joined us in January 2019 on an initial loan deal, and having played a key role in our promotion back to the Premier League, he was signed on a permanent basis the following summer.
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Aston Villa is pleased to announce that @Kortney_30 has signed a contract extension until 2025! ✍️
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 20, 2022
It’s been difficult for Hause since in terms of establishing himself in the Villa starting line-up, as he’s been limited to 42 appearances in all competitions.
However, particularly now, it was vital that we secured his long-term future, and it’s a major boost for Steven Gerrard to have that situation wrapped up. That said, there is still an issue in that department that Villa must address.
Villa lack defensive depth despite Hause’s future being resolved
While Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa remain the first-choice defensive pairing for Villa when available, there is still a clear lack of defensive depth in the centre-half positions that we need to sort out in January.
Axel Tuanzebe’s exit after his loan stint was ended early has left us short-handed, and with Konsa a doubt to face Everton this weekend after coming off injured against Man Utd last time out, it shows that we’re in a dangerous position in terms of having enough quality depth available to cover important absences.
Hause did well stepping in for the second half against Utd last Saturday, and he’ll be expected to now start alongside Mings in the heart of the Villa defence this weekend.
Nevertheless, should anything happen to that pair, and if Konsa is forced to sit out for an extended period of time, it leaves Villa and Gerrard in a precarious position.
Further, it’s not ideal to have two left-footed centre-halves in the backline in terms of balance and comfort for the one who has to play on the right side of the pair, with Hause being asked to do that job. It’s a potential vulnerability that could be exposed at the top level and so something needs to be done to address it.
It’s important that Hause’s future was secured first, as ultimately an exit for him could have led to us needing to sign two new defenders this month. Instead, he’s now set to offer us an important option in defence moving forward as he looks to challenge both Mings and Konsa for a regular starting spot, and Villa will only be in the market for one more in that area.
As per the Daily Mail, it’s specifically noted that Gerrard wants one more centre-back and a central midfielder before this window closes, and so while Hause’s contract extension is great news, there is still work to be done to ensure that this squad is competitive and deep enough to not only challenge this season, but well beyond it too.