Time up for forgotten Villa star as new suitors emerge to end PL nightmare

French outfit Nantes have emerged as a possible destination for Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Sanson who may well be seeking a new club in the summer.

The 27-year-old joined the West Midlanders in January 2021, with Villa paying Marseille around £14m for the former France Under-21 star. However, it has not been a happy move for the talented schemer, with injury hampering his progress. The former Montpellier man made just three starts among nine top-flight appearances in the second half of 2020-2021 before injury struck.

He suffered a knee injury during Villa’s 3-1 triumph over Fulham on April 4. That ended his season and he was not seen again until an EFL Cup clash with Chelsea on September 22.

But far from being a successful return, Sanson suffered recurrence of the knee injury and did not play again until December 1. That was after Steven Gerrard had replaced Dean Smith at the helm and the hope was that he would see more action.

However, the Saint-Doulchard-born star has enjoyed only 280 minutes of league football this term from nine appearances. Therefore it is not surprising there are reports he is unhappy at Villa Park and looking for a new challenge.

Foot Mercato claim he ‘wants to leave’ Villa this summer having been redundant on the bench in recent times. And the ex-Le Mans player may fall even further down the pecking order if Villa bring in another midfielder in the off-season.

Gerrard has been at the heart of an excellent recruitment drive since taking over as manager. The likes of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne arrived in January to add class to the ranks.

The duo have performed well, helping Villa to ninth in thr Premier League standings. There have been rumours that the former England midfielder will