Aston Villa’s £15m signing says he went through ‘hell’ at the club

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Strasbourg loanee Morgan Sanson claims he went through ‘hell’ during a disastrous stint at Premier League outfit Aston Villa. 

One man’s idea of ‘hell’, of course, is another’s impression of heaven.

But while the chance to pick up millions of pounds worth of wages while twiddling your thumbs on a Premier League bench is one that would probably appeal to most of us mere mortals, professional athletes are a different beast entirely.

Morgan Sanson managed just six league starts during two years at Aston Villa. 

And when Strasbourg came to rescue him from his claret-and-blue nightmare during the January transfer window, the former Marseille playmaker hardly needed a second to think. 

Morgan Sanson surely has no future at Aston Villa

“I didn’t have playing time at Aston Villa, and I needed a change of scenery,” Sanson, who has 15 Strasbourg starts under his belt already, tells the Ligue 1 website. 

“I needed a challenge. Coming to Strasbourg, it was simple. It’s an attractive club with a full stadium every game.

“I didn’t want to join a club where I was going to have less playing time. It was a real criterion for me. I needed to play an important role at a club. I made no mistake in joining the RCSA, both to revive myself and to help the club achieve its goal.

“As I said when I arrived, the key was to rediscover pleasure, play again and be on the pitch again.” 

‘It was hell’

Aston Villa paid £15 million for Sanson back in January 2021; sporting director Johan Lange pressing ahead with the deal despite reservations from members of the club’s scouting department. 

It’s safe to say hindsight doesn’t look back too fondly on Lange’s decision.

“By coming here, I had to show everyone that I wasn’t dead,” Sanson adds. “When you don’t play for six months or more, and things are tough for you, people ask a lot of questions.

“I lived through difficult times there (at Aston Villa). Not playing takes all the fun out of our job and it creates some tension.

“On the other hand, I have hardened myself mentally. I was already solid in my head but now I am armoured.

“Going for months not playing, having been injured for six months the first year, coming back and getting injured again… It was hell.”