Tshibola hasn’t made a first-team appearance in two months but Bruce’s hand may be forced.
Watching on from the sidelines once more, Aaron Tshibola could be forgiven for wondering why he has not been given more of an opportunity under Steve Bruce.
The midfielder was supposed to be one of the first names on Villa’s team sheet when he arrived from Reading for £5 million in the summer, per the Daily Mirror, but, these days, he’s lucky if he even gets to venture onto the substitutes bench.
The 21-year-old hasn’t pulled on a Villa shirt since Bruce’s first game in charge against Wolves in October but, after Mile Jedinak, Jack Grealish and Ashley Westwood were comprehensively out-thought and out-fought in the desperate defeat to Norwich on Tuesday, he may finally be welcomed back into the first team fold, albeit due to the failings of others rather than his own work.
Jedinak and Grealish both neglected their duties as Canaries full-back Ivo Pinto charged forwards in the build up to Nelson Oliviera’s winner at Carrow Road, leading Bruce to claim afterwards that many of his fringe players could benefit from the first team’s faults against QPR on Saturday.
“I’ve had people travelling up and down the country over the last five or six weeks waiting for a chance, they will certainly be getting it on Sunday,” the manager told the Birmingham Mail.
Tshibola’s 6ft 2ins frame and willingness to execute the more menial midfield tasks, harrying, hassling and winning possession, means he could find himself rather in vogue at Villa in the coming weeks with Bruce demanding more commitment, more energy, more desire – attributes the 21-year-old is hardly lacking.
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