According to reports in the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has hinted that out-of-favour defender Tommy Elphick could still have a role to play this season after returning from injury.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Birmingham Mail says the Villa centre-back may well be on the move this summer with arch-rivals Birmingham City, Leeds United and Sunderland all keen on the former Villans and Bournemouth captain.
Elphick fell out of favour under Steve Bruce last season with Nathan Baker and James Chester often preferred at the heart of the defence, but despite the latter joining Bristol City last month his future is still in doubt following the summer additions of John Terry and Christopher Samba.
The 29-year-old hasn’t featured for all of pre-season after picking up a calf injury during their early preparations in Portugal, but the Birmingham Mail says he returned for a behind-closed-doors friendly against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday and Bruce has hinted that he could yet feature in his plans.
What did Bruce say?
He told the Birmingham Mail: “It hasn’t gone so well for him here.
“He is really popular in the dressing room with the coaches and management but unfortunately it was tough for Tommy as he got injured on the first day of pre-season.
“If nothing does I will be delighted to have Tommy around. He is a good pro who still has something to offer.”
How did Elphick do last season?
The centre-back was brought to Villa Park by previous manager Roberto Di Matteo and he would have likely gone on to be one of their key players if the Italian hadn’t have been sacked in October of last year.
When Bruce came in he quickly chose Baker and Chester as his first-choice pairing and despite spending the majority of the second-half of the campaign on the substitutes’ bench, Elphick still made 26 league appearances in total.
What happens next?
Well, while Bruce has said that Elphick will return to the squad and still has a part to play, it is difficult to see that happening considering that John Terry and James Chester will likely be his first-choice partnership for the upcoming campaign, with Christopher Samba in reserve.
Whether the 29-year-old is willing to sit on the bench for another season remains to be seen and a move is still probably best for both parties, as long as Villa’s valuation of the player is met.
However, it is sure that they would prefer to sell to someone else than Birmingham City, who could be one of their promotion rivals come the end of the campaign.