Aston Villa defender Matty Cash is reportedly attracting interest from his former club Nottingham Forest ahead of the transfer window deadline.
The 28-year-old joined us from Forest in 2020 and has since gone on to make 181 appearances for the club, contributing 10 goals and 12 assists to go with his defensive work.
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Injuries have been a problem along the way, but Cash has been a fundamental presence for Unai Emery when available with his experience and ability to add a vital balance to our backline, and he remains our first-choice right-back despite moves in the transfer market over the past 12 months to perhaps add more competition to put further pressure on him.
According to The Athletic though, Forest are now interested in re-signing the Polish international, and although it’s noted that no formal approach has been made as of yet, he is seemingly an option to address their desire to strengthen in the right-back position.
It’s added that Cash has been in talks over a new deal with Villa recently with his current contract running until 2027, and so it remains to be seen if an exit emerges as a realistic option, or if this ultimately ends with him signing a new agreement to extend his stay with us. Either way, Villa and the player himself need to make an important decision as to which path they go down.
Should he depart, Villa would certainly need to engage in the transfer market to replace him, as although Andres Garcia was perhaps signed in January with the intention of filling that potential void, he surely isn’t ready yet given his lack of football in recent months, while talented youngster Triston Rowe is also a longer-term fix but certainly showed his potential during our pre-season schedule.
With a string of departures this week and the need to strengthen in various areas of the squad, this could be a hectic period coming up for Villa in the final 11 days or so of the transfer window, and if Cash were to leave, the search for an upgrade in that role will no doubt speed up significantly to ensure that we’re not left short for the first half of the campaign at least.
There is certainly intrigue over the position though as it’s arguably been a problematic one for some time, and it will be fascinating to see if Emery puts his faith in our talented youngsters or a more established option arrives in the event that Cash moves on.
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