The veteran centre-back is desperate to earn a contract with Aston Villa.
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has told the Birmingham Mail that he will discuss the possibility of handing Christopher Samba a permanent deal but says the veteran defender’s future will not be decided for another two weeks at least.
The 32-year-old, who last played for Panathinaikos in Greece, has been training with Villa since late February in a bid to get his stuttering career back on track after Crystal Palace, managed by Sam Allardyce who got the best out of Samba at Blackburn, turned down the opportunity to hand him a deal.
Samba impressed in a 60 minute performance for the Aston Villa Under-23s against Wolves on Monday, however, and Bruce says that the club will continue to monitor his progress before making a decision on a player who famously earned £100,000-a-week during an ill-fated six month spell with QPR, as reported by the BBC.
“I’ve got to sit down with him and his representative and see but there’s been nothing decided just yet,” Bruce told the Birmingham Mail.
“I watched Samba on Monday night. I’ve known him through Big Sam and he’s wanted to come and train. There’s this notion that he’s on trial, it’s not really a trial as such.
“He wants to earn a contract and we’ve given him the platform to keep fit. We’ll see what happens over the next two weeks or so.”
With just two months of the season left to go, the fact that Bruce is willing to wait before making his move suggests that he sees Samba as a potential player for next season rather than someone who can make an impact in the final weeks of the current campaign.
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