Aston Villa signed Frederic Guilbert from Caen in the January transfer window.
Villa signed Guilbert from Caen in the January transfer window for a fee reported by The Birmingham Mail to be worth £5 million.
The 24-year-old defender, though, will stay at Caen for the rest of the season on loan.
The decision may have baffled Villa fans. After all, it is clear that the Villans need a defender, and the 24-year-old will have reinforced that department for the second half of the campaign.
Smith has explained why Villa made the decision to send the former France Under-21 international back on loan to Caen.
“It was part of the agreement with Caen,” Smith told The Birmingham Mail when asked why the loan arrangement was included in the deal. “They’re fighting a relegation battle and want to keep their best players.
“We just felt that we were okay to let him stay there and play until the end of the season. He’s got time to brush up on his English skills, now too!”
Promotion push
Villa are unlikely to finish in the top two of the Championship table this season, but Smith’s team can certainly clinch a playoff spot if they are able to put together a run of positive results.
The Villans are ninth in the Championship table at the moment with 43 points from 30 matches, just four points behind sixth-placed Bristol City.
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