Southampton recall Jan Bednarek from season-long loan at Aston Villa
Southampton have recalled defender Jan Bednarek from his season-long loan at Aston Villa as they look to bolster their chances of Premier League survival, it has been confirmed.
Bednarek, 26, was brought to Villa Park in the summer as a useful backup for the likes of Tyrone Mings and Diego Carlos but ended up making just four appearances all season long.
The Poland international started just one league game this term in the dire 3-0 defeat to Fulham and was substituted at halftime in what would be Steven Gerrard’s last game as manager.
It has been reported that Bednarek will return to St Mary’s to “help boss Nathan Jones and his squad battle against relegation” after their 1-0 loss to Villa on Saturday (21 January).
Surplus
Unai Emery clearly had no need for Bednarek at Villa Park, so the move from Southampton to recall him works perfectly for both parties.
The centre-back is way down the pecking order in Emery’s plans, with Mings, Carlos, Ezri Konsa and Calum Chambers all being played hard of him at different points this season.
He also isn’t entirely comfortable with Emery’s ball-playing needs and never looked the right fit when the Spaniard arrived at the club.
The return of Bednarek has continued a trend this January, with Villa keen on shipping off players deemed surplus to requirements and cutting down the wages in the first-team squad.
Already this month Danny Ings has left for West Ham, while Morgan Sanson and Frederick Guilbert have joined Strasbourg. There is a clear vision to Emery’s thinking in the West Midlands at the moment, but he must ensure he replaces these players with some fresh faces in the last week of the transfer window.
In other Aston Villa news, a 17-year-old academy prospect has signed his first professional contract with the club.