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Could Aston Villa now struggle to sell Carles Gil this summer?

Steve Bruce, Manager of Aston Villa looks on prior to the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Cardiff City at Villa Park on April 10...
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Carles Gil has spent the 2017/18 season on loan at La Liga outfit Deportivo La Coruna from Championship promotion hopefulls Aston Villa.

Carles Gil of Aston Villa celebrates as he scores their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Aston Villa at the King Power Stadium on September...

A month ago, the Birmingham Mail reported that Aston Villa were praying that Deportivo La Coruna would decide to sign Carlos Gil on a permanent basis at the end of this season.

The Spanish playmaker had been on loan at the La Liga outfit from Villa after falling out of favour under Steve Bruce. And Gil, who moved to the Midlands from Valencia for £3.2 million in 2015 (BBC), has no future at Villa Park which explains why the club were hoping that Depor would like to keep him at the Riazor on a full-time basis.

Carles Gil of RC Deportivo La Coruna competes for the ball with Sergi Roberto of FC Barcelona during the La Liga match between RC Deportivo La Coruna and FC Barcelona at Riazor Stadium on...

But the Championship giants’ best laid plans appear now to have gone awry.

Because, after a 4-2 defeat at home to a Barcelona side inspired by hat-trick hero Lionel Messi, Deportivo have been relegated from La Liga. And, worryingly, Gil was nowhere to be seen once again and has featured in just one game since Dutch legend Clarence Seedorf took over at the club back in February.

Villarreal's midfielder Samuel Castillejo (L) vies with Deportivo La Coruna's midfielder Carles Gil during the Spanish league football match Villarreal CF vs RC Deportivo de la Coruna at...

Now, Deportivo are not exactly a club with a lot of money at their disposal so relegation to the second tier means they could struggle to afford a permanent deal for Gil, even if they wanted to keep the diminutive midfielder around. Villa owner Tony Xia wrote on his official Twitter page last summer that Depor have an ‘obligation to sign’ Gil – though relegation might put that agreement in doubt.

So Aston Villa’s hopes of making a decent sum of money from their forgotten man may now have taken a hit.