The Aston Villa defender has been impressive at left-back this month.
At first glance, Neil Taylor’s three-match suspension looked like very bad news for Aston Villa. but fast-forward a few weeks and the Welshman’s absence has prompted a transformation of a previously forgotten man.
Alan Hutton had plenty of critics ahead of his return to the Villa side in an unfamiliar left-back role. However he has won over plenty of them with three impressive outings in a row, leaving his manager Steve Bruce with a selection headache for the upcoming clash with Preston North End.
With Taylor the only recognised senior left-back on Villa’s books, his prolonged absence looked set to strike just when they needed it the least. But now Hutton has come in from the cold, proving against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fulham and Birmingham City that he is not done yet.
Taylor will be keen to step straight back into the starting XI for this week’s match but that is far from certain after Hutton’s resurgence.
Now it seems Villa have a valid alternative and Bruce may well rotate in the months ahead, especially over the busy Christmas and New Year period.
That will be great news for a Villa side with high hopes of promotion this season, and also for Hutton, who looked to be on the proverbial scrapheap but has turned things around in double-quick time, proving that one player’s setback is another’s opportunity.
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