Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce refused to let Tommy Elphick leave for Sunderland on deadline day – only to omit him from the squad.
Tommy Elphick will get a run out for Aston Villa in their EFL Cup clash with Middlesbrough on Tuesday, according to the Birmingham Mail, but that may be one of the few times the centre-back is spotted in Steve Bruce’s starting XI.
After all, it spoke volumes when Bruce admitted that he was forced to leave six senior players out of his 18 man squad for the trip to Barnsley on Saturday – Elphick joining fellow outcasts Micah Richards, Ross McCormack, Gabby Agbonlahor, Ritchie de Laet and Mark Bunn in staying behind to train at Bodymoor Heath.
Elphick, who looked an excellent signing for Villa when arriving from Bournemouth last summer, struggled for form at the heart of the defence last season and has fallen down the pecking order following the marquee addition of John Terry.
The 30-year-old, who captained Bournemouth to the Championship title in 2015, has not played a single minute of league football this season and that appears unlikely to change regardless of whether or not he impresses against Garry Monk’s Boro in midweek.
Therefore, his failure to secure a move away from Villa Park in the transfer window looks to have rendered the 2017/18 season as a write off already. The Express and Star reported on deadline day that Bruce decided to rebuff interest from Sunderland, who bid £1 million, due to concerns about his lack of depth at centre-half.
However, while Elphick has been left out in the cold at Villa with James Chester and John Terry limiting his opportunities, the out-of-favour defender surely would have found game-time easier to come by at Sunderland.
After all, Marc Wilson has endured a shaky start at centre-back since arriving from Bournemouth while Everton loanee Tyias Browning already appears to have lost the trust of manager Simon Grayson.
As it is, however, Elphick will be forced to wait in the background for an opportunity at Villa.
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