Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Tue 31 March 2026 7:10, UK

Aston Villa outsider Lewis Dobbin still has aspirations of playing for the club but backs himself to get a good move if he was to leave.

The winger swapped Everton for Villa in 2024 for a reported fee of up to £10million until the summer of 2028.

But to date, the 23-year-old is yet to make a single first-team appearance for the West Midlands outfit.

Loan spells at West Brom, Norwich City and Preston North End have kept him busy since then but it remains to be seen if he has a Villa Park future.

Amid an encouraging season at Championship side Preston, the former Derby County loanee has set his sights on a Villa breakthrough, but admits it is “not the end of the world” if he doesn’t achieve that goal.

Lewis Dobbin preparing to accept his Aston Villa fate?

Dobbin has bagged 14 goal contributions for Preston this season in 34 appearances in all competitions.

While he is a winger by trade, the vast majority of his goals and assists have come as a centre-forward for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.

According to Sofascore, his Championship rating this season is 6.66, with the youngster exhibiting a good mix of goals with both feet and his head.

Getting a game under Unai Emery is no easy task and it seems that Dobbin is trying to cushion the blow if a Villa opportunity passes him by.

“I’m contracted to Aston Villa,” he said. “I went there with the aspirations to play for Villa. That’s always my goal, that’s always the long-term goal.

“Hopefully, I get the chance one day but if not, it’s not the end of the world. I’ll back myself to have a good move if I was to leave Villa.

“We’ll just see what happens in the future but definitely my aim is to play for Villa one day.”

So far this season, Dobbin has a goal conversion rate of 13 per cent, he has missed one big chance, and he has six assists from an Expected Assists tally of 1.86.

Per game, he averages 0.9 successful dribbles (38 per cent), and he is under 40 per cent for total duels won.

Dobbin undoubtedly has talent but will he finally get a chance at Villa? That is very much up in the air.

How does Dobbin compare to Morgan Rogers?

While a big chunk of Villa fans may have doubts about whether Dobbin can make the grade at Premier League level, many have done so before him.

Indeed, when Villa signed Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough in February 2024, few would have predicted he would go on to achieve what he has.

The summer prior, the Championship team took a punt on the Manchester City flop, and it paid dividends as they sold him for a fee potentially rising up to £15m with performance-related add-ons in early 2024.

Their numbers are strikingly similar but Rogers did that predominantly as an attacking midfielder, while also showing his versatility as a left winger and centre-forward.

Dobbin has been deployed as a striker more often than not, and as a result, his return is less impressive.

But with Villa’s Profit and Sustainability issues, it may be worth giving Dobbin a go in the Premier League next season.

He still has more than two years left on his deal, though, so Villa may try and cash in on him sooner rather than later.