Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has enjoyed an excellent time in the Midlands since taking over in October 2022, with particular success coming in the transfer market.
During his regime so far, the likes of Pau Torres, Moussa Diaby and Youri Tielemans have all joined the club, despite bigger teams showing interest, while he has managed to ship out some unwanted players, either permanently or on a temporary basis.
One such name is that of Morgan Sanson, who joined French side OGC Nice on a season-long loan deal last summer after an underwhelming spell in England.
Morgan Sanson’s Aston Villa statistics
The midfielder joined the club from Marseille in January 2021 for a transfer fee in the region of £16m as Dean Smith needed some fresh legs in his side and the Frenchman looked like he could turn out to be a shrewd investment.
During the first half of the season for the French giants, Sanson had scored twice and grabbed three assists, and it looked as though Smith had signed a player who could offer a serious attacking threat from the heart of the midfield.
He only played nine times during his first six months at Villa, however, which yielded zero goal contributions, but with a solid pre-season behind him, the 2021/22 season looked to be his time to shine.
It wasn’t to be. Throughout the whole campaign, Sanson played just 12 times, while he ranked in a lowly 19th spot for accurate passes per game (12) among his teammates in the league, along with finishing 17th for key passes per game (0.1) and ninth for tackles per game (1.2), proving that he failed to showcase his true talents.
The 29-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at Strasbourg, before joining Nice in the summer, and it is clear he has rinsed the club dry during his time at Villa Park so far.
Morgan Sanson total cost at Aston Villa
Not only did the Midlands side shell out £16m for the player in 2021, but he has since earned £4.7m in wages after making the move to the Premier League.
This combined total of £20.7m is a massive figure for someone who has failed to make a lasting impression at the club and the quicker they move him on permanently, the better.
Not only that, but Sanson has played just 23 times for the club, scoring once, which means he has cost Villa a grand total of £900k per game, a complete waste of money.
Emery appears to have a much better understanding of the transfer market than previous Villa managers, and this should see the club avoid signing players such as Sanson in the future.
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His contract expires at the end of next season and this summer represents the most logical time for the Spaniard to sell him on and try and recoup some of the £16m that was spent in January 2021.
Depending on who is interested, they will likely have to take a massive loss on the midfielder, who has rinsed the club dry over the previous 36 months.