View: Kaine Kesler-Hayden can rise through Aston Villa ranks like Trent Alexander-Arnold
Kaine Kesler-Hayden’s short-term future at Aston Villa remains a mystery following the termination of his loan spell at Huddersfield Town, but the right-back still has the ability to thrive under Unai Emery.
The Villa academy graduate made 15 appearances for the Terriers during his first half of the season loan and started to find his feet at Championship level, being named in the league’s team of the month for December.
His stunning form over the festive period included playing a part in six straight games, netting the winner against Preston on Boxing Day and providing a crucial assists against Rotherham just days later.
Despite his drastic improvement, the 20-year-old was told to pack his bags and head back to Villa Park due to the return to fitness of experienced former-Villa player Matt Lowton at The John Smith’s Stadium.
Now back in the West Midlands and still behind Ashley Young and Matty Cash in the first-team pecking order, questions have arisen about the best course of action for the youngster’s development.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, The Athletic’s Dan Bardell admitted that Kesler-Hayden’s development mirrored that of Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool and that he possessed a similar set of skill traits to the England international.
He said: “He was the one out of all the loanees last season who I thought had the best chance of making it into the first team.
“I watched him against Manchester City last year in the FA Cup, and he held his own and looked a really accomplished player.
“He was one I was hoping would come through the ranks and be Aston Villa’s equivalent to Trent Alexander-Arnold because he’s very good on the ball, a very good passer, gets forward well with good energy and has good athleticism.”
Although the former FA Youth Cup winner has come on leaps and bounds during his loan spells at MK Dons and Huddersfield in the last 18 months, the club are yet to find a suitable loan destination in the January transfer window.
If he were to remain at Villa Park, Bardell worries that the young defender may not quite suit the defensive demands of Emery, who likes his right-back to tuck in beside the centre-backs and show more restraint in the final third.
He said: “So it’s a funny one really because you can’t really work out what’s happened. Villa had two goalkeepers on the bench against Southampton, and you’d think if Kesler-Hayden was there, he’d be on the bench.
“If he didn’t go out back on loan by the end of January, he’ll definitely at least be training with the first-team, but it depends whether Emery fancies him or not because I know the way Villa are playing at the moment, the right-back sits back and tucks in and basically become a third centre-back.
“Under Emery’s system so far, it seems the left-back usually has more licence to get forward and attack, so that’s why Matty Cash finds himself out of the team for Ashley Young at the moment.”
The most likely course of action and the plan which would reap the most rewards for Kesler-Hayden would be to find a club to take him on loan in the dying hours of this transfer window and let him ply his trade in the Championship.
If he continues to thrive at that level, the 20-year-old could be the natural successor to Young in Emery’s first-team squad when he decides to hang up the boots.
In other Aston Villa news, Carla Ward must find a contingency plan in case Rachel Daly gets injured for her side this season.