Aston Villa dropped to 11th in the Premier League over the weekend as they were beaten 4-2 by Brendan Rodgers' Leicester on their own turf on Saturday.

Unai Emery's side are sitting comfortably in midtable and one of the team's best performers throughout the campaign so far has been veteran full-back Ashley Young.

The 37-year-old has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.98 in the Premier League so far this season and this places him second in the Villa squad - only behind Douglas Luiz.

Young has played 17 times in the top flight, starting 13 of those matches, and has contributed with three tackles and interceptions and 0.6 key passes per match for the team.

However, the gem turns 38 in July and Emery may start to think about what life may look like after the former England international retires or parts ways with the club.

Matty Cash, 25, is the other senior option at right-back but the Poland international would not have any competition for his place if Young moved on without a replacement coming into the squad.

Emery could find the dream heir to the ex-Manchester United winger's place in the side by unearthing the talent of 20-year-old academy full-back Kaine Kesler-Hayden.

The young dynamo has already experienced League Two, League One, and Championship football out on loan in recent seasons and the Villa coach could look to slowly bed him into the side as Young heads towards the end of his playing days.

Reporter Jonny Leighfield previously hailed the talented youngster during the gem's time on loan at Swindon Town during the 2021/22 campaign, saying: "As soon as the loan deal from Villa was done Garner told us that this kid's got serious quality, a player who's destined to play for Villa's first team."

The journalist added: "He's just a cut above."

"He's got a brilliant turn of pace and a player who like to do his damage up the other end of the pitch. He's got everything about him to play either Championship or Premier League football regularly."

During the first half of the current campaign, Kesler-Hadyen made 1.2 tackles and interceptions and 0.7 key passes per match in the second tier for Huddersfield. This came after he made 1.9 defensive contributions and created 0.8 chances per match in League One during the 2021/22 season.

The 20-year-old may not be producing the kind of numbers that Young has been delivering for Villa in the Premier League, from a defensive perspective, this season but the gem has 17 years of development to catch up with the veteran.

Kesler-Hayden could be the future of Villa's right-back position, given the glimpses of quality he has shown in the Football League so far, and Emery could find Young's long-term heir by providing the youngster with chances to impress in the coming seasons.