Having joined Aston Villa from Ligue 1 outfit Marseille in January 2021, midfielder Morgan Sanson has endured a tricky first year at Villa Park to say the least.
The Frenchman joined the West Midlands club for a fee reported to be around £16m with Dean Smith the manager and the Villans hoping to secure a top-half finish after a strong first half of the Premier League campaign.
Fast forward to now and Dean Smith is no longer manager, with Steven Gerrard taking the reigns in November, and Villa just missed out on the top half, finishing 11th.
Furthermore, since signing Sanson has managed to make just 16 appearances for the Villans in all competitions, seven of which have come this season, with his first year in England proving tough.
More recently, Sanson was publicised not for an impressive performance but for an outburst caught by the Sky Sports cameras after the Frenchman was substituted in Villa's 2-2 draw against Manchester United last month.
The 27-year-old gave possession away to the Red Devils who subsequently scored through Bruno Fernandes to give themselves a 2-0 lead before Gerrard opted to replace Sanson with Philippe Coutinho, who went on to score the decisive equaliser.
The midfielder reacted to his withdrawal by kicking a water bottle into the stands out of frustration and hasn't played a single minute for the Villans since.
There have been numerous occasions when the £47k per-week Frenchman has failed to make the squad let alone the bench in the Premier League for Villa this campaign, with the draw against United just Sanson's second start of the season.
Having lost 1-0 to strugglers Watford on Saturday afternoon, the West Midlands side have now won just two of their last ten matches, with Sanson failing to come off of the bench in the four games since the Manchester United game.
Moreover, despite Gerrard's side needing a change in fortune and potentially personnel, it has to be argued that it seems unlikely that the midfielder will see much game time before the end of the season with Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Jacob Ramsey and Carney Chukwuemeka ahead in the pecking order as well as Marvelous Nakamba set to return from injury in April.
Having blown his chance to impress against Manchester United, you wonder how many more opportunities Sanson will get. What is for sure though, is that if another is to come the Frenchman's way, it has to be taken with both hands, otherwise, it should be au revoir in the summer.