Aston Villa defender Frederic Guilbert is set to imminently leave the club to join Strasbourg, according to reports in the last 24 hours.
The Frenchman first made the move to the Premier League from Caen back in 2019, but has completed three loan spells outside of England during that time.
The right-back will be out of contract at the end of the season, and having failed to make any kind of impression on the first team since his arrival, is about to make an early exit.
According to Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace (via Sport Witness), Villa are set to ‘terminate’ Guilbert’s deal having ‘concluded an agreement’ for him to join Strasbourg this month.
The 28-year-old has reportedly ‘been released’ by the club and is already ‘booked in’ for his medical in Ligue 1 on Monday.
The Midlands outfit are said to have agreed to sanction his departure in return for a ‘percentage on any future sale’.
TIF thoughts on Guilbert leaving…
Guilbert hasn’t ever managed to become a household name in the top flight, so Villa making the decision to let him go this window is completely the right one.
The Valognes native has made zero appearances under both Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery, and it’s clear that he’s not going to be part of the Spaniard’s long-term plans moving forward.
Should Guilbert be moved on, in years to come, the club will be able to use this cash to generate future transfer funds, so not all from his disappointing spell will have been lost.