The 21-year-old midfielder has recently been linked with a loan move to Rangers after falling out of favour since Bruce was appointed as Villa manager in October.
Aaron Tshibola will not be allowed to leave Aston Villa on loan in the January transfer window, manager Steve Bruce has revealed at his pre-match press conference ahead of Burton Albion’s visit on Boxing Day.
Tshibola, 21, joined Villa from Championship counterparts Reading in the summer for a reported £5 million fee and went on to make four starts in six appearances under Roberto Di Matteo over the first two months of the season, scoring once in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle United after returning from a four-week injury layoff.
The physical midfielder also started Bruce’s first game in charge in mid-October, when the claret and blues drew 1-1 with West Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers at Villa Park, but he has surprisingly failed to see a single minute of action for the first-team since then.
Having reportedly grown frustrated about his lack of football, the former England Under-18 international is now said to be keen to secure a loan move away from B6 next month and has been linked with Scottish giants Rangers this week [h/t The Scottish Sun].
However, while Bruce admits that he has fielded calls about Tshibola’s availability recently, he insists that the highly-rated middle man is still very much in his plans for the second half of the season.
“Tshibola is supposed to be going here there and everywhere, according to his agent,” Bruce told reporters at his press conference. “He has rang around the clubs saying he’s available for loan, so when the managers ring me and say he’s available I said no.”
Having made a good impression under Di Matteo, Tshibola’s lack of action since Bruce’s arrival has been particularly puzzling given that neither Ashley Westwood nor Gary Gardner have impressed when partnering Mile Jedinak in central midfield over Villa’s recent games.
The London-born youngster has been featuring for the club’s Under-23 side in the meantime, but he will be hoping that the congested winter fixture schedule will give him a chance to re-establish himself in the first-team and show why there was so much excitement surrounding his signing back in July.
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