Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is likely to keep all five of the young talents currently out on loan as he ponders whether to trigger the recall clauses in a number of the players currently out on loan, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The newspaper claim on their website that despite the likes of Andre Green, Easah Suliman, Jordan Lyden, Mitchell Clark and Kelsey Mooney having yet to be seen by Smith at the club’s Bodymoor Heath training ground – having been sent out before his arrival at the club – he is not planning on bringing any back from their respective temporary spells away.
The report also reveals that Villa could bring Jed Steer, Tommy Elphick and Aaron Tshibola back if they wished, but that Gary Gardner does not have a clause in his contract, while Ritchie De Laet and Ross McCormack are expected to stay in Australia.
Opinion
While Smith might not have seen the youngsters in the flesh and got the chance to work with them on a one-to-one basis, he will no doubt have been receiving regular updates from his scouts and coaching staff on their progress at their respective sides. There is no urgent need to recall anyone from their loan spells – other than perhaps Tommy Elphick to bolster the centre defender options – and it seems none of the youngsters have done enough on their temporary stints away from Villa Park to convince the manager they are either worthy of a shot at the first team, or deserve a chance at another, perhaps more challenging, level of football. He is likely going to want to keep everything settled, which can be so important for a young talent as he develops as a footballer, and will likely make his judgement on their futures with the Villans come the summer.