Aston Villa-owned midfielder Jordan Veretout has commented on his future.
Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard in action with St Etienne’s Jordan Veretout
Saint-Etienne midfielder Jordan Veretout has told the Daily Mail that he didn’t know Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce watched him in action on Thursday.
The French side were in action against Manchester United on Thursday evening as the two sides met in the Europa League’s Round of 32, but fell to a 3-0 defeat as Zlatan Ibrahimovic hit a hat-trick at Old Trafford.
Whilst the second leg of their encounter takes place on Wednesday, Thursday’s encounter enabled Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce to visit Old Trafford and watch one of his loaned out players.
Midfielder Jordan Veretout joined Villa from Nantes back in the summer of 2015, but was allowed to leave the club on loan following their relegation to the Championship, after he has hit five assists in 25 Premier League appearances.
This term, Veretout has been turning out for Saint-Etienne, and has notched two goals and two assists in 23 Ligue 1 appearances, with the 23-year-old getting somewhere close to his best back in France.
His loan deal is set to expire at the end of the season though, and it’s unclear whether he will return to Villa Park or complete a permanent exit elsewhere – but his chances of a return may have been aided by Bruce’s presence in the crowd.
Aston Villa’s manager Steve Bruce
As noted by the Daily Mail, Bruce watched Veretout in action against Manchester United as he weighs up whether to bring the midfielder back next season, with Villa no doubt hoping for promotion – whether it’s from the Championship or League One, given that relegation this season isn’t completely out of the question.
Now, Veretout has told the Daily Mail that he isn’t sure what will happen with his Villa future, but he had no idea that Bruce was watching him, and given that they don’t know each other yet, he hopes to speak at the end of the season.
“Things have gone well for me at Saint-Etienne,” said Veretout. “It’s been a really good season for me and for the club and I hope that continues. I don’t know yet what’s going to happen in the summer and what I want to do. For the moment I just want to concentrate on these last few months I have at St Etienne and keep up the good form I’ve had for me and the club.
“After that, I’ll think about Aston Villa again. We’ll see what happens, that’s all I can say. No, I didn’t know that [Bruce watched on Thursday]. But I don’t really know him anyway. We’ll have to speak at the end of the season,” he added.
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