The Athletic’s Gregg Evans has claimed that Aston Villa man Kortney Hause is ‘too good to be sitting on the bench’.
The 26-year-old has impressed under Dean Smith of late. After helping his side take Chelsea to penalties in the Carabao Cup, Hause then played the full 90 minutes against Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend.
Not only did he keep a clean sheet as his side won at Old Trafford for the first time in 12 years, but he also scored the only goal of the game.
However, with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa the preferred defensive pairing at Villa, and Axel Tuanzebe arriving on loan from Man United this summer, Hause’s opportunities may be limited this season.
With this in mind, Evans has claimed the defender will have to make a decision on his future at the end of the season, as he’s too good to not be playing.
While speaking on the 1874 podcast, he said: “I think he’ll probably have to have a hard look at himself at the end of this season if he’s not playing regularly and say, do I stay here and be the fourth, or perhaps even fifth-choice centre-back – you know, depending on what Villa do next season – or do I need to go somewhere and play regular games?’
“Because, for me, he’s too good to be sitting on the bench. In the last two weeks, he’s kept [Romelu] Lukaku quiet at Chelsea in the last 15 minutes and managed to nullify the threat of [Cristiano] Ronaldo, so it doesn’t get any harder than that.”
TIF Thoughts on Kortney Hause and Aston Villa…
While often being in and around the squad under Dean Smith, Hause has not been able to establish himself as a guaranteed starter at Villa.
Indeed, over the previous two seasons, his appearances in the Premier League have dropped from 18 to seven. While this season, so far, he has only featured twice out of a possible six league matches – and only one of those was a start.
Should Kortney Hause leave Aston Villa next season?
Yes
No
With his contract set to end in the summer of 2022, this really does feel like an important 12 months for Hause as a Villa player. If he can’t find more regular game time, he could well leave the club at the end of this season.
In other news: ‘Looks so assured’ – Journalist raves over 26 y/o AVFC ace who ‘dominates players’