Former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has called for patience and opportunities to be afforded to January acquisition Morgan Sanson.
Joining from Ligue 1 side Marseille, the French midfielder may have arrived with the weight of heavy expectations on his shoulders given his transfer fee, but has failed to muscle in under Dean Smith’s plans.
With the likes of John McGinn and Douglas Luiz favoured ahead of Sanson in the pecking order, Hendrie has argued that Sanson has not been given the platform to showcase his talents.
Separate reports from Football Insider have hinted that senior officials in the Villa hierarchy may be having doubts over the suitability of Sanson for Dean Smith’s plans, regretting his acquisition as a result.
Speaking to Transfer Tavern, the ex-Villa ace declared:
“There was big talk about how good he was and how good his energy was. He hasn’t really had a thick run of games, which I think is important for a footballer.
“You know, we’re quick to judge players coming on, yes, you want an impact when they come on. You’re spending big money on players that are coming in and you want to see some form of transition where you’re going to get a positive from and we haven’t quite seen that so far from him, so whether it takes the summer [perhaps].”
With 25 goals and 22 assists in 157 appearances to his name for Marseille, Sanson clearly has the capacity to work hard to create chances and strike the ball into the net.
His record paints the portrait of an unselfish, hard-working all-round dynamo that could inject quality into Villa’s midfield.
In that sense, it is baffling as to why his career at Villa is being held back.
In other news: Ex-Villa stalwart discusses rise of two breakout Villans