Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that sporting director Jesus Garcia Pitarch is set to talk with the representatives of a trio of senior stars over their future at the club.
Defender Tommy Elphick and midfielders Mile Jedinak and Glen Whelan are all out of contract at the end of the season and with the club’s future still not clear cut, with the possibility of a play off spot and therefore a return to the Premier League on the cards, they will be made to wait.
Speaking of the trio, Smith revealed it all lay in the hands of Pitarch as the club make multiple plans in order to cover off all eventualities.
He told the Express and Star: “It will be down to Suso (Pitarch) speaking to their representatives.
“We are just concentrating on the football at the moment and having half an eye on the next transfer window as well. You always do (need two plans). While there is a mathematical possibility you have to have half an eye on being a Premier League team or a Championship team.
“At the moment we are a Championship team. Unless we put a string of wins together we will still be next season.”
Opinion
Of the three players with their futures up in the air, only Jedinak’s seems the most clear cut. Out of favour for much of the season it would take a lot for him to earn a new deal between now and the end of the campaign. His age means he might well be looking for one final payout and that is not going to come at Villa Park. As for Elphick and Whelan, their futures are a little murkier. The defender went from outcast to first team star in January after being recalled from his loan spell away from the Villans and there is definitely an argument that he has plenty to offer moving forward, even if that is not as someone in the starting XI. Whelan meanwhile has been a mainstay in the side but has suffered an up and down season in terms of his form. He has impressed at times and his experience is something other players could learn from, but can Villa afford to keep him on the money he is on right now? A difficult situation and Smith will be glad it is Pitarch and not him dealing with it.