Aston Villa made wholesale changes this week but the young right-back was not among them.
Steve Bruce’s team selection for Aston Villa’s EFL Cup third round clash with Middlesbrough spoke volumes, with wholesale changes proving he is very much prioritising the Championship. And yet one selection made no sense, with Alan Hutton selected over James Bree.
When the veteran Villa man switched to left-back and latterly centre-back, the selection was made all the stranger, and whether it was for Hutton or fellow full-back Ritchie De Laet, Bree deserved to take his place in the starting XI.
Hutton appears to have no future at Villa Park, whereas Bree is expected to grow into an impressive right-back given the opportunity.
His woeful performance against Brentford earlier this month showed just how far Bree’s confidence has dipped amid Villa’s wretched start. And while things are now looking up, the 19-year-old has not made the squad for the last two league games.
The cup clash against Boro was an ideal chance to bring Bree back into the fold and give him some much needed minutes to slowly and effectively rebuild his confidence.
Instead he watched from the bench as a makeshift Villa back line conceded twice and the club slipped out of the competition with barely a whimper.
Most telling of all was the fact that Bree played the full 90 minutes in the previous rounds against Colchester United and Wigan Athletic, so why was he suddenly given a watching brief, albeit from the bench?
If Bruce had no intention of taking the match as seriously as Villa’s Championship exploits, it was the ideal chance to Bree. Instead his confidence may be knocked even more, at exactly the time when it needs to be rebuilt.
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