The Frenchman was sold by Aston Villa a year before their relegation.
Yacouba Sylla is far from the only disappointing foreign import to arrive and depart Villa Park in the blink of an eye. From Jores Okore to Niklas Helenius, at least Aston Villa can take some solace in the fact that they paid just £2million to sign the midfielder from Clermont Foot in January 2013, the BBC reported.
Then-manager Paul Lambert claimed that the former France Under-21 international’s physicality would make him an excellent Premier League acquisition but, after just 22 top flight appearances, Sylla was farmed out to Kayseri Erciyesspor on loan before returning to his homeland with Rennes.
These days, the 26-year-old is plying his trade with Ligue 1 strugglers Montpellier; not that he has too many regrets about cutting short his stay in the Midlands after they tumbled into the Championship last season.
“To go from the Premier League to the Championship is quite hard – I think it is the hardest second division in Europe,” Sylla told Get French Football News.
“They play a lot of matches, and many players who are used to the Premier League have to adapt to a style of play that is completely different.
“The Championship is no fun, it is a very hard league. I have friends who play there every weekend, and it is difficult but full of passion. Teams who go down from the Premier League will not automatically go up after the season they play in the Championship.”
Villa have learned that the hard way. Despite spending almost £70million to rejuvenate the squad, Steve Bruce’s side are only now making inroads into the top half after a dismal post-Christmas run which left them genuinely fearful of the prospect of successive relegations.
Either way, with the impressive Henri Lansbury, Mile Jedinak and Connor Hourihane battling for a spot in the midfield, few at Villa Park will be regretting the decision to let go of Sylla.
If he could not adapt to the pace of the Premier League, the Championship would hardly have been a more comforting environment.
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