While Aston Villa’s fullback options are far from convincing, Eric Lichaj continues to be Nottingham Forest’s Mr Consistent.
Rajiv Van La Parra of Huddersfield Town has a shot blocked by James Bree of Aston Villa
It’s fair to say that, despite a number of solid performances in recent months, Aston Villa supporters are hardly united in their admiration for Alan Hutton.
Therefore, James Bree’s error-strewn performance in the recent 3-1 defeat at Fulham only highlighted right-back as a potential problem position for the club moving forwards.
If only Villa manager Steve Bruce could call upon a defender with the consistency of Eric Lichaj. Forest may still be in the relegation mire with just two Championship fixtures remaining but, without their stand-in captain, Mark Warburton’s side may have swapped places with Blackburn Rovers by now.
However, with just a year remaining on his current contract, doubts persist about Lichaj’s long-term future. According to the Nottingham Post, the American would prefer to remain at Forest but, as of yet, the club are yet to make a move to tie him down to a long term deal.
Therefore, Bruce should perhaps consider making an ambitious approach to re-sign Lichaj four years after the club allowed him to leave for nothing. Bree is considered Villa’s future first-choice right-back but fleeting appearances in Villa colours since signing for Barnsley in January have merely highlighted concerns that he is not yet ready to make the position his own.
Consequently, Lichaj, who was a popular figure in the Villa Park dressing room, would surely be welcomed back on the terraces.
Bruce claimed recently that Villa have shot themselves in the foot in recent seasons by letting some of their most talented academy graduates leave, the Birmingham Mail reports. As it stands, Gary Cahill could follow Marc Albrighton in lifting the Premier League title while Barry Bannan is set for a place in the Championship play-offs with Sheffield Wednesday.
And you can add Lichaj to that list.
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