The 22-year-old was a stand-out talent as he progressed through our youth system, and after impressing at that level, he went on to showcase his potential in a string of loan deals, most recently at Preston North End last season.
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With the quality that he showed, it had been hoped that he would eventually make a breakthrough at Villa in the first-team squad, but as per [The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6462407/2025/06/30/aston-villa-transfers-kaine-kesler-hayden-coventry/), he’s expected to seal a move to Coventry on Tuesday for a fee of £5m.
Further, it’s noted that there will be a sell-on clause inserted into the agreement, and so should Kesler-Hayden impress for the Championship outfit and attract interest further down the line, Villa will cash in again if it’s a decent transfer fee.
Albeit the initial fee seems a bit low given the potential that Kesler-Hayden has to kick on and become a top player, it’s sensible from Villa to include the sell-on clause as there is a high chance that his value will increase and it could be an additional opportunity for the club to secure a financial boost.
While it is disappointing to see another Academy product move on, especially a local lad who looks to have a bright future ahead of him after impressing while at Villa, it makes sense for all concerned as the club will book ‘pure profit’ from his sale, while the right-back will get a chance to secure a prominent role and play regularly.
With Matty Cash and Andres Garcia ahead of him in the pecking order at Villa, it’s difficult to see how he would get much playing time under Unai Emery, with the Basque coach still having a decision to make on the future of Kosta Nedeljkovic.
In turn, although Villa will compete on multiple fronts again next season and need competition for places in every position, a choice was needed on who was best placed to give us what we need at right-back, and it appears as though we’ll move forward with Cash and Garcia for the time being.
Selling our talented young players has become part of the overall transfer strategy at Villa over the past couple of years, and time will tell where it leaves us when we shift the focus to signing reinforcements to improve Emery’s squad given we now have financial clarity and space in the squad to sign targets.
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