Jonty Banks

Tue 7 March 2023 8:30, UK

Aston Villa academy star Kaine Kesler-Hayden will fancy his chances of some first-team action in the 2023/24 season as the future of Ashley Young hangs in the balance.

Young, 37, is the current alternative to Matty Cash at right-back this season, but his contract at Villa Park runs out at the end of the season, and talks are yet to have surfaced about a possible extension going into next season.

The Athletic’s Gregg Evans shared that Villa might be willing to open discussions with the 39-capped England international about a future coaching role whenever the time feels right – possibly hinting that he might not remain at the club as a first-team player for too much longer.

And if Young was to leave the club at the end of the season, this would leave the door ajar for rising star Kesler-Hayden to cement his position in the first-team set-up under Unai Emery.

There are high hopes for the 20-year-old within the corridors of power at Villa Park after impressing on two separate loan spells at MK Dons and Huddersfield Town over the last 18 months.

During his time with the Terriers, the defender was named in the Championship team of the month for December, as well as picking up attacking returns in consecutive games right before he was recalled to Bodymoor Heath.

Although the club couldn’t secure the right loan move for the England Under-20 international in the January transfer window, the young right-back has trained with the first team on and off while starring for the Villa Under-21s in recent weeks.

If Kesler-Hayden is to break into the first-team ranks, he may need to adjust his style of play a touch. Since arriving as manager, Emery has often asked his right-back to tuck in deep and narrow – a role that Young has taken to wonderfully.

However, the academy defender is most-known for his attacking ambition in the final third. The Atheltic’s Dan Bardell admitted that the way Kesler-Hayden attacked drew similarities to Trent Alexander Arnold when speaking to Villa News, but he may well need to curb this ambition slightly if he is given a shot by Emery.

The big question then is whether Emery will look to reshuffle his right-back options at the end of the season with a dip into the transfer market or trust the club’s youth and place a vote of confidence in Kesler-Hayden.

With other areas of the first-team squad in desperate need of investment, Emery shouldn’t need to go scouting far for a new right-back if Young does move on. Kesler-Hayden is waiting in the wings and ready for his opportunity to shine.

In other Aston Villa news, the future of this loanee hangs in the balance as contract talks await.