Aston Villa paid Reading £5m for Aaron Tshibola last summer – the fact he now finds himself on loan at MK Dons in League One speaks volumes.
If Aston Villa fans are continuing to wonder why the club decided to spend £5 million on Aaron Tshibola last summer (The Mirror), MK Dons supporters will be sharing their confusion.
The young midfielder arrived from Championship rivals Reading amid great expectations but, like fellow 2016 signings Ross McCormack and Tommy Elphick, failed miserably to live up to his hefty price tag.
In total, Tshibola made just eight Championship appearances in his debut season, barely featuring once Steve Bruce replaced Roberto di Matteo in October and hardly made much more of an impact during a five month loan spell at Nottingham Forest. In five months, Tshibola featured four times.
And the fact that the 22-year-old has made next to no impact a league below with third-tier side MK Dons, who he joined on a season-long loan in July, should set off plenty of alarm bells.
What does he offer?
“Aaron is a very good player,” manager Robbie Neilson told the MK Citizen, jumping to the midfielder’s defence after an ineffective display in Tuesday’s goalless draw with Northampton Town.
“He hasn’t been one of the top performers but he has been a big part of the team.”
Dons fans may disagree with the latter part of Neilson’s statement. Tshibola may have started nine League One games this season but he is yet to really stand out in any of them. MK Dons were excellent in Friday’s 2-0 win at bitter rivals AFC Wimbledon but Tshibola somehow managed to remain anonymous while his team-mates played at their peak.
And, against Northampton, Tshibola looked far closer to a £500,000 player than a £5 million one.
If he can’t cut it in League One, what chance does he have of a future at Villa?
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