The Frenchman endured a testing first season at Aston Villa.
Jordan Veretout has told France Football that he was “lucky” Remi Garde was appointed as Aston Villa boss following Tim Sherwood’s sacking 12 months ago.
The French midfielder joined Sherwood’s Aston Villa in the summer of 2015 for a £7 million fee, but started only three Premier League games under the 47-year-old.
Sherwood was fired by the Villans toward the end of last October and Garde came in, but the French manager was unsuccessful in leading the club to safety and he himself was dismissed from his role before the season ended.
But Veretout – who has since joined Saint-Etienne on a season-long loan – found much more game time when his compatriot came in, finishing the campaign with 21 top-flight starts.
The 23-year-old has reflected on his time frozen out of the first team by Sherwood and says nobody – including the man himself – could explain why he was not playing.
“He [Sherwood] told me I was a member of the team, that there was competition and the best players would play. I played two games, then I wasn’t anymore, even if I was part of the group,” he told France Football, as quoted by Sports Witness.
“I don’t know how they work. They don’t give you any explanation. Then I was lucky that Garde came.”
Veretout has started eight Ligue 1 outings for the French side this season, scoring once and setting up another.
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