Steven Gerrard’s summer clear out at Aston Villa looks certain to see the curtain come down on Morgan Sanson’s stay at the club.
The French midfielder has been a massive disappointment since his £16m switch from Marseille 17 months ago. Big things were expected of Sanson when he arrived at the club but he has failed to make any impact at all in the Second City.
Now Gerrard looks certain to offload the lukewarm midfielder as he revamps his squad during the holiday period. Turkish outfit Galatasaray are poised with a bid but one thing seems certain - Villa are going to have to take a big financial hit on the 27-year-old.
Galatasaray think they can get a tune out of him but will be looking to get him in a cut-price deal unlikely to exceed £5m.
Sanson out
According to TRTSpor, Sanson is a 'priority' target for Galatasaray and say the Istanbul-based club will make an offer to Villa in the next few days. Sansom’s failure to make an impact has come as a something of a surprise.
When he signed, former boss Dean Smith said: “Morgan has performed consistently at the highest level in French football for a number of seasons as well as in this season’s Champions League, and is a player with the quality and experience to play in any midfield position.
“He will add real competition for starting places and gives us more squad depth, which is vital to competing successfully in the Premier League." But he only made three Premier League starts under Smith in 2020-21 and has failed to convince Gerrard that he’s worth persevering with. He’s only made 10 appearances under Smith’s successor and started just three.
Bellingham knock-on effect
Birmingham Live are reporting that Liverpool ’s interest in England star Jude Bellingham could open up an opportunity for Villa prospect Carney Chukwuemeka to join the Bundesliga outfit. The 18-year-old is highly rated but continues to stall on a new contract despite all Gerrard’s best efforts.
The Villa boss has publicly declared how much he’d like to keep the midfielder who made his debut for the club at just 16. He’s an England U-19 international and Gerrard says he’d be best off staying at Villa to further his career.
But with contract talks at a standstill and the player having only 12 months left, Gerrard looks likely to lose patience and give the green light to his departure. talkSPORT believe Chukwuemeka could be heading to Arsenal and a number of other top clubs have been linked
Young's future
Former Manchester United and England star Ashley Young is still in talks over signing another 12 month deal at Villa.
The veteran has done a great job since joining on a free from Inter Milan and Gerrard is hopeful something can be sorted. However if he decides to move on, Birmingham Live reckon Manchester United defender Brandon Williams could be a target in a £10m deal.
