A big update has emerged on Aston Villa outcast Frederic Guilbert and his future at the club heading into 2023...

What's the talk?

The Birmingham Mail's Ashley Preece has revealed that the Frenchman "will leave in January" after he fell out of favour at Villa Park over the last two years.

A supporter, during a Q&A, asked the journalist about potential departures during the upcoming January transfer window and he named Guilbert and Marvelous Nakamba as potential exits.

The full-back is out of contract at the end of the 2022/23 campaign and the club will need to find a buyer to recoup some money for his services before they lose him for nothing next summer.

Unai Emery's first mistake

Villa's new manager could be on course to make his first mistake in charge of the club as Guilbert's form out on loan indicates that he has the quality to fight for his future in England, rather than being tossed aside.

The 27-year-old spent the second half of the 2020/21 campaign and the entirety of 2021/22 on loan at RC Strasbourg and caught the eye with consistently strong performances in his home country.

Guilbert averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.16 and made a whopping 5.3 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst also assisting four goals, in 13 Ligue 1 outings in 2020/21.

He followed that up by averaging a score of 7.13 in 33 matches in the French top-flight last season, making 3.8 tackles and interceptions per clash and creating eight 'big chances' for his teammates.

These statistics show that he put in consistently brilliant performances in Ligue 1 during his 18-month spell out on loan, as he won the ball back for his side on a regular basis whilst also providing a threat going forward with his crosses into the box creating opportunities for others to score.

Last season, Matty Cash (6.94) and Ashley Young (6.74) averaged significantly lower SofaScore ratings in the Premier League than Guilbert managed in France, while also amassing fewer tackles and interceptions. Indeed, Cash registered 3.6 per game while Young only won 1.3.

This term, the Poland international (6.66) and the ex-Manchester United man (6.99) have, again, failed to match their teammate's performance levels out on loan.

The £40k-per-week Frenchman, who has been dubbed a "cast-off" by Preece, averaged a score of 6.77 in his only Premier League campaign for the club to date in 2019/20 but his subsequent form in another major European league suggests that he deserves a second chance.

Therefore, selling him in January before giving him the opportunity to prove that he can translate his superb form from Ligue 1 over to the English top flight could well be Emery's first big mistake in charge of the club.

His statistics indicate that he could offer more than Young and Cash from a defensive point of view and he should be afforded the chance to save his Villa career.