Aston Villa summer signing Zepiqueno Redmond appears to have rejoined training after suffering an injury setback earlier this summer.
The 19-year-old arrived on a free transfer last month after his contract at Feyenoord expired, and it had been hoped that we would get a glimpse of him over the course of our pre-season schedule to see what kind of impact he’s capable of making.
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Unfortunately, an injury shortly after reporting for pre-season duty at Bodymoor Heath pushed back his preparations, but as seen in his social media post on Friday, the talented Dutch youngster was back working with the group at the training ground and will hopefully now stay injury-free in the coming weeks with a decision needed on his more immediate future.
The expectation is that he’ll be loaned out for the campaign given his lack of experience and the need to play regularly in order to improve and develop his game, and so getting fit will be the priority before a potential temporary exit is agreed upon with the best landing spot in mind.
Albeit Villa lack competition and depth up front behind Ollie Watkins, the likes of Donyell Malen and Evann Guessand are likely to be above Redmond in the pecking order still given their versatility allows them to lead the line if needed, and so it’s hoped that he’ll eventually become a key option for us in the first-team squad once he’s had the chance to play a more prominent role elsewhere to continue to fulfil his potential.
There’s a lot to like about Redmond’s game given he has the physical attributes and qualities to offer us a different dynamic in the final third, but time will tell if he’s able to make a breakthrough with us, or if Villa’s intention is to follow a similar path as others in recent times whereby we look to flip young talent for a profit, and ultimately help fund our spending on more polished players like Guessand who can make a more immediate impact.
For now though, it’s good to see Redmond back training, as picking up an injury so soon after joining a new club can’t have been easy, and he’ll be desperate to make a positive impression moving forward wherever he spends this season.
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