{{primary_category}}
{{/primary_category}} 
Kortney Hause nowhere to be seen at Aston Villa, he's surely nailed on to depart in January
It’s been an extremely tough campaign for Aston Villa defender Kortney Hause – and it’s difficult to envisage the 28-year-old playing for the club ever again.
The centre-back spent the first half of the 2022/23 season on loan with Watford in the Championship. However, it was a loan spell to forget, only making three appearances for the Hornets before returning to Villa in February.
The Athletic reported on 10 February that Hause had returned to the West Midlands to begin his rehabilitation on a knee injury.
However, since then he’s rarely been seen or pictured at Bodymoor Heath which further encapsulates his forgotten status under Unai Emery’s management. It’s uncertain whether he is fit enough or even still undergoing an injury recovery plan.
The long-standing injury has had a damaging effect on Hause’s chances of making an impact at Aston Villa.
Hause hasn’t played more than ten minutes for Aston Villa since the 15th of January 2022 under former manager Steven Gerrard, where the defender played a half of football in a 2-2 draw against Manchester United.
The 2022/23 season was the perfect chance for the defender to stake a claim by impressing for Watford in the second tier, but again injuries hampered his progress.
With the likes of Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa and even Calum Chambers all ahead of him, it’s hard to see him being given a chance by Emery when he does return to full fitness.
The defender is contracted to the Villans until 2025 but it certainly won’t be a surprise for him to beg the Spaniard to let him quit in the winter and an exit would feel like the most suitable route for everyone concerned.
A move back to the Championship would be the smartest move. He’s physically dominant and more than capable of making an impact for a successful EFL side.
Furthermore, due to the length left on his current deal, Villa could earn a decent fee for the central defender and there certainly won’t be any short of offers from clubs in the second-tier or even abroad if he can prove his fitness between now and then.
What’s guaranteed though, is that Hause may not be stepping on the Villa Park pitch again for the club and it’s only right if both parties come to an amicable parting of ways when the window reopens on 1 January.
In other Aston Villa news, one senior player now has weeks to save his Villa Park career after a new injury update on one Emery favourite emerged.