At the start of 2021, not many Aston Villa fans would have predicted that they would start 2022 with Jack Grealish and Dean Smith repping the colours of other Premier League clubs.
But that’s the rollercoaster ride Villa fans have been a part of and now Steven Gerrard is tasked to guide them into a new era.
The legendary midfielder has been in the B6 hot seat for over a month now and he will be getting familiar with the faces at the club.
Whilst there has been a lot of talk of the heavy pockets Villa’s joint owners – Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens – can splash during the next two transfer windows, it all just can’t be one-way traffic in the transfer market.
Villa now have a pretty healthy number of senior players to choose from and with a new manager at the helm, it wouldn’t be a surprise if a number of them depart in 2022.
For some, it’s obvious that a permanent switch away from the club awaits them, but for others, it may well be a heartbreaking ending.
Here, we take a look at the three Villa players who should be sold in 2022:
Anwar El Ghazi – The penalty-expert has only managed 19 minutes of football under Gerrard and the signs suggest that he might be one heading for the exit door.
The Midlands side have a pretty stacked attacking crop of players to choose from, especially out wide and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gerrard part ways with some.
El Ghazi is a popular figure amongst the supporters and it would be sad to see him depart.
But with 18 months left on his contract, the 26-year-old, who scored Villa’s opening goal in the play-off final against Derby, could be moved on rather than be handed a new deal.
Kortney Hause – It’s either get sold in January, sign a new deal or leave on a free in the summer for Hause.
Given that the 26-year-old is a backup option at centre-back and always has been, then it’s pretty obvious that he may need to look for a new home.
It would be wise, from Villa’s perspective, for them to cash-in on him when the winter transfer window opens because his minutes aren’t going to increase under Gerrard any time soon.
Wesley – It’s a crying shame what has happened to Wesley’s career and the one-time club-record signing needs picking up again.
Ever since that horror tackle from Ben Mee on New Year’s 2020, he hasn’t been the same and has only managed 120 minutes of football since then.
That’s in the colours of Villa and now out on loan at his former side in Club Brugge, where he has only started one game for the Belgian outfit.
The one-time Brazil international needs a new permeant home, somewhere that will provide him with the regular minutes, so he can re-start a career that was headed down a promising path.
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