Morgan Sanson is not part of Unai Emery’s plans at Aston Villa but the Premier League misfit has turned down a return to Ligue 1 with Strasbourg and Auxerre this month, according to FootMercato.
Two years ago, Sanson’s £15 million arrival at Villa Park was greeted by a great deal of enthusiasm. Should he depart two years later, expect the reaction to be a lot more muted.
Sanson’s impact on the Premier League, after all, has been about as lasting and as substantial as Nick Swardson’s on the silver screen, playing a grand total of one minute so far in 2022/23.
Emery hailed Sanson’s enthusiasm after replacing Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa in November.
The ex-Marseille playmaker has found football as hard to come by under Emery as he did under both Gerrard and Dean Smith, however; Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey, Leander Dendoncker and Boubacar Kamara all ahead of him in the claret-and-blue pecking order.
Morgan Sanson has no future at Unai Emery’s Aston Villa
Sanson, FM add, is ‘absolutely not in Unai Emery’s plans. The 28-year-old, like compatriot Frederic Guilbert, has informed Aston Villa of his desire to move on. But that does not mean Sanson is going to grasp onto the first offer that comes his way.
Sanson has reportedly rejected the advances of both Auxerre and Strasbourg. Both clubs are currently in the Ligue 1 relegation zone. The one-time Wolves target is holding out instead for a return to a Montpellier side he represented from 2013 to 2017, but La Paillade are yet to show any serious interest in taking Sanson back to the Stade de la Mosson.
“Morgan’s been very professional. He’s been calm. He’s been training well. But, at the same time, he’s frustrated with his game time,” Gerrard told to the Express and Star back in August.
Sanson would miss out on a move to Espanyol a few days later.
“I respect that. I understand (his frustration),” Gerrard added. “If something lands for Morgan that he wants to pursue, we won’t stand in his way.”
It seems Emery is taking a similar approach.
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