Aston Villa midfielder's transfer value drops as Steven Gerrard set for big decision

Morgan Sanson's value in the transfer market has dropped to nearly half of what Aston Villa reportedly paid for him according to CIES Football Observatory.

Sanson has struggled to nail down a place in Villa's first team having joined the club in the 2021 January transfer window for a reported fee of £16m from Marseille.

But he has made just 15 appearances in the Premier League and has yet to register an assist or score a goal.

Now CIES Football Observatory, which uses a scientific model to assess the transfer value of professional footballers, has ranked Sanson's transfer value at around £8.5m.

The 27-year-old has made just two starts this season ahead of what is expected to be a big summer for head coach Steven Gerrard when it comes to making a decision on the centre of his midfield.

He has already been linked with moves for Brighton's Yves Bissouma and Leicester City's Wilfred Ndidi and should either of them arrive, Sanson could be pushed further down the pecking order.

Transfer journalist Pete O'Rourke has already suggested that Sanson's future could be under the spotlight if Villa do add a world class midfielder to their squad.

He told GiveMeSport : “It’s going to be an interesting summer ahead for Sanson if he’s not able to break into the team between now and the end of the season.

“There will be serious question marks over his long-term future if Villa do bring in another midfielder, which I would fully expect them to do.”

Gerrard has already outlined his stance on Sanson, however, having said last month: "The first time that I met Morgan personally, I could see someone who was pretty down, who was pretty frustrated in terms of how his Aston Villa career had gone up until that point," he said.

"So it was