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Why Aston Villa’s move for Wolves starlet Dion Sanderson is a step in the right direction

Why bringing Dion Sanderson would offer Aston Villa more options in defence

According to Football Insider (h/t Birmingham Mail), Aston Villa are keeping close tabs on Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Dion Sanderson.

The 20-year-old Sanderson recently joined Cardiff City on loan in January and has already raised a few eyebrows with his eye-catching displays.

The right-back featured in the Championship outfit’s last three games and was impressive in their last game against Barnsley, even scoring a goal in his side’s 2-0 away win.

On-loan Wolves right-back Dion Sanderson
Dion Sanderson of Wolves is currently on loan at Championship side Cardiff City. (Image credit: Wolves.co.uk)

Since his January move, Sanderson has played three league games and has one goal to his credit. His impressive start at Cardiff has attracted a lot of rival Premier League clubs with Villa leading the race to land the young defender this coming summer.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith’s Aston Villa are struggling in the English top-flight after making a return last season to the Premier League. They now once again look poised for a return to the Championship with the side sitting 19th in the table, managing just seven wins from 28 matches.

Villa are now planning a summer loan swoop for the youngster, who was a part of the Wolves first-team squad early in the season after impressing at the pre-season tour in China.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith (right) has had not so successful campaign this season with the side facing a possible relegation threat. (Getty Images)

He was also a part of the Nuno Espirito Santo-led side’s squad for the Europa League qualifying games before being sent back to their under-23 side. He was also a crucial player for the Wolves reserves side featuring in 12 of their total 18 league games before joining Cardiff in January.

The young full-back made his debut for Wolves by playing the whole 90 minutes against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup fourth round clash back in October. However, he ended up on the losing side after Wolves went down 2-1 to the Villans away from home.

The on-loan defender still has one year left on his Wolves contract but with the side currently looking for new players in defence, he has attracted interest from other clubs.

Cardiff City right-back Dion Sanderson
Dion Sanderson during a Cardiff City training session. (Image credit: Cardiff City FC)

A traditional right-back, Sanderson is also comfortable playing in the middle. This is evident from his time with the Wolves reserve side where he featured more as a centre-back than in his favoured right-back role.

Out of the 16 games he played for the under-23 side, he has featured 13 times as a central defender. Aston Villa, on the other hand, could really do with a young right-back of Sanderson’s potential.

The Villans currently have just two players in that position – Frenchman Frederic Guilbert and veteran Ahmed Elmohamady. Guilbert has established himself as a regular while Elmohamady is already 32 and way past his prime.

Guilbert though has not been entirely effective with the Villans conceding as many as 56 goals this season – the highest by any Premier League side. Thus, Sanderson’s arrival would offer good competition to Guilbert for a starting role within the side.

Aston Villa has had a terrible season so far and are sitting 19th in the league table.
Aston Villa players try scoring a goal against Bournemouth in the Premier League this season. (Getty Images)

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Verdict

With Villa having a dearth of talented right-backs at the moment, young Sanderson’s arrival would offer Smith more options to choose from. Moreover, he is young and has the experience of playing at the highest level.

However, with Villa facing a possible relegation threat, it remains to be seen if the young full-back decides to make a switch. However, Dion Sanderson to Aston Villa could work out well if it happens.