Aston Villa
Aston Villa’s Samuel Iling-Junior has experienced a unpredictable journey in the last two years.
In early February,SportWitness covered the winger’s loan move from Villa Park to Pisa. This came after he had a temporary stint at West Brom but Italy was seen as a place where he can make a mark.
The move came as a shock but things started well. Iling-Junior came off the bench against AC Milan and made an impact in a 2-1 defeat.
He also played in attacking midfield against Fiorentina, later making an appearance against Juventus.
However, things are going downhill for the Aston Villa player, with confusion how this has happened.
No clarity about Iling-Junior
Tuttomercatoweb hightlight the Aston Villa loanee was denied a call-up to the Pisa squad for the second consecutive game in Friday’s defeat to AS Roma.
The Italian outlet question ‘where has that talent gone?’, as they look at his time at Juventus.
He made 45 appearances for the Bianconeri, also contributing with six goals.
Since the move to Aston Villa, his career has progressively declined. Initially, it was seen as the perfect move, but his loan moves have been unsuccessful.
The reasons for his failure to make the squad for Roma seems tactically. Iling-Junior isn’t injured and it seems like manager Oscar Hiljemark has simply lost trust in the winger.
Our take: Constant loans aren’t helping the player
Every young player needs stability. Iling-Junior was getting that at Juventus and was starting games. He was constantly seen as a threat on the left-wing, where he could assist the forwards.
However, he’s now had four different loans since then. There have been glimpses of his quality but it has never been consistent. Going on so many loan to a number of clubs hasn’t helped him.
The 22-year-old will be desperate for a club where he plays on a regular basis. It probably won’t be at Aston Villa and subsequently the Premier League side may have a decsision to make on his future in the summer.