Report suggests 26-yr-old Aston Villa player will be told to find a new club this summer – originally posted on Sportslens.com
Aston Villa are prepared to cut their losses on the Belgian defender Bjorn Engels.
The 26-year-old has struggled to hold down a regular starting berth at Villa this season and he needs to move on in order to play more often.
According to Football Insider, the West Midlands club will inform the defender that he’s free to find a new club in the summer.
They paid a sum of around £7 million for the Belgian back in 2019 but they are unlikely to be able to recoup that money because he has been a major disappointment at Villa Park since his arrival.
Engels has a contract with Villa until the summer of 2024 and it will be interesting to see if the Premier League side can find suitors for him this summer.
The defender has been playing for the under-23 side in order to retain his match fitness. He has not featured in the Premier League for the West Midlands club yet this season.
The likes of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa have been outstanding at the back for Dean Smith’s side and even the likes of Kortney Hause have found it difficult to break into the starting line-up because of that.
Furthermore, Villa have been lucky with injuries at the back this season. The likes of Mings and Konsa have managed to stay fit and therefore Smith has not had the opportunity to field his back up defenders yet.
It makes sense for the club to want to offload the Belgian this summer. He is clearly not a part of Smith’s plans and shifting him off the wage bill would allow the club to invest in a more useful player.
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