It’s far too early to suggest the on-loan St Etienne midfielder is finished at Aston Villa.
The news that Jordan Veretout would be leaving Aston Villa to join St Etienne after their horrific relegation campaign last season won’t have induced too many sleepless nights at Villa Park.
Technically gifted, intelligent in possession yet alarmingly lightweight, Veretout appeared the typical case of a talented player not cut out for the demands of the ultra-competitive English league.
Yet, reports in the Daily Mail that Villa boss Steve Bruce was present in the Old Trafford crowd as St Etienne stumbled to a 3-0 Europa League defeat to Manchester United on Thursday suggest that it may be too early to write Veretout off as yet another forgettable foreign import.
After all, it would be silly for Villa to simply forget about a player they plucked from Nantes for £8 million in 2015 (Daily Mail). Until his ill-fated season in the Premier League, the 23-year-old had the world at his feet.
Just four years ago, Veretout inspired France to Under-20 World Cup glory, starring in the midfield alongside Paul Pogba and Geoffrey Kondogbia. In 2014/15, he scored seven and assisted six more in Ligue 1 for an unfancied Nantes side.
And, furthermore, his performances at St Etienne have been so impressive at times that Calciomercato claimed that Juventus were seriously considering making a move.
Veretout appears to have bulked up in France, too, suggesting that his chances of adapting to the English game are not a lost cause.
Then again, with Villa floundering in mid-table of the second-tier, letting a talented young midfielder go before he’s had a chance to truly prove himself is exactly the kind of decision that got them into this mess.
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