Aston Villa have pre-season plan for Keinan Davis but he could still be sold – report
Aston Villa plan to have Keinan Davis show Steven Gerrard what he can do in pre-season before deciding his future, according to Ashley Preece.
The 24-year-old spent the second half of the 2021-22 campaign on loan at Nottingham Forest and his five goals helped Steve Cooper’s side to promotion via the playoffs.
His future at Villa Park though is up in the air but he is expected to get the chance to stake a claim for a spot in the Villa squad for the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.
“Forest boss Steve Cooper sees (Taiwo) Awoniyi as an upgrade on Davis with the two very much alike in terms of playing style,” Preece said during a Q&A session on Birmingham Live.
“The plan is for Keinan to come back to Villa in pre-season and to show Gerrard if he’s worth having around the group (has he really improved).
“There will be plenty of suitors for KD. Clubs will, though, try another loan but Villa would prefer a permanent sale.”
Last chance saloon
At 24 years of age, you can’t help but think that this pre-season is going to be the very last chance Davis gets to prove that he can make it as a Premier League footballer with Aston Villa.
He is effectively in direct competition with Cameron Archer but everything is pointing towards the 20-year-old who is not only younger but also scored more goals in the same time period as Davis.
Archer also scored his seven goals for a mid-table Preston North End rather than a side chasing promotion like Forest were which is another quiver in his bow.
Gerrard has to take that and the four years of age difference into consideration when he is deciding who he wants to put his faith in to be the next up-and-coming number nine of the Midlands.
The only reason Davis stays at the club would be if Archer is sent out on loan for a full season of Championship football instead and Gerrard wants that added layer of protection should anything happen to Danny Ings or Ollie Watkins.
In other Aston Villa news, Indiana Vassilev is another young player we should keep an eye on after he produced a stunning seven-minute cameo for Inter Miami at the weekend.