Aston Villa loanee Morgan Sanson will surely never step foot at Villa Park after exit admission in last 24 hours
Aston Villa loanee Morgan Sanson has surely called time over his career in the West Midlands after admitting he will do everything possible to remain at OGC Nice permanently.
The 29-year-old midfielder is currently on a season-long loan at the high-flying French club and wants to remain at the Allianz Riviera beyond the current campaign.
The Frenchman has made 14 appearances for Nice in Ligue One so far and has not missed a game as they continue their tremendous start to the campaign, sitting second in the league with just one defeat from their 14 games.
It was confirmed by Nice in July that they also have the option to sign the midfielder permanently at the end of this season, and the Villa man, speaking to Get Football News France (8 December) admitted he will do everything he can to ensure the option is triggered.
Asked if he wanted to stay, he said: “Yes, of course. Florent Ghisolfi has said the same thing that he wanted me involved in the project for the long term.
“Even if there is a permanent option with clauses that are very much attainable, I think I’ll be here for a while. I will do everything to ensure that the option is triggered.”
Before heading to the French club on loan, Sanson only made two league appearances off the bench in the Premier League, the first against Manchester United for one minute of play and the second against Leeds for less than ten minutes of pitch time.
Few would have predicted when the then 26-year-old headed for B6 back in 2021 for £16m with the expectation of competing with John McGinn and Ross Barkley for starting places, he would be quite as ineffective as he endured.
Before he joined the club under Dean Smith, he emerged as one of the most underrated midfield components in France.
In the first half of the 2020/21 season, Sanson managed to notch up five goal contributions for Marseille from the heart of midfield and started four of their Champions League group games, bringing more than enough pedigree to be deserving of his move to England.
In France that year, his 1.4 key passes per game (Who Scored) made him an exciting creative spark, but in his time with Villa, he has managed to only complete an average of 0.3 chance-creating passes per 90 minutes played.
With Sanson enjoying his spell at OGC Nice right now and the French sitting just four points behind Paris Saint-Germain, it’s easy to see why he wants to stay. But to cut to the chase, the 29-year-old was a £16m expensive mistake.
With Aston Villa holding lofty ambitions of their own right now and in the near future under Unai Emery, getting Sanson off the wage bill will be of remarkable relief for everyone behind the scenes.
As he’s stated this week, he will never step foot at Villa Park again and good riddance.
In other Aston Villa, one forgotten player may be losing patience with Unai Emery as his bags could already be packed ahead of a January exit.