Aston Villa loanee Morgan Sanson needs to look at himself after what he said about Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery, according to Dan Bardell.
Speaking to RMC Sport on 25 January, the 29-year-old said something went “very badly” for him with a coach at Villa and that the problem was that Gerrard arrived at the club instead of Emery.
The French attacking midfielder is currently on loan at Ligue 1 club Nice, where he’s scored two goals and laid on three assists in 25 appearances this season.
Bardell admitted that he loves to blame Gerrard for things that went wrong at Villa Park, but that the former Villans manager wasn’t at fault for Sanson’s spell with the club not working out.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “I love to criticise Steven Gerrard as much as the next person because I think he was an absolute disaster.
“I spend a lot of time still being very critical of Gerrard, but I don’t think he can be blamed for Sanson if I’m honest.
“Dean Smith didn’t play him, Gerrard didn’t play him, Unai Emery has come in and given him a couple of games, but he’s decided he isn’t good enough at Villa and he’s gone out on loan a couple of times.
“I think sometimes a player has to look at himself and, if three managers have not given you a chance or not believed you’re good enough for some reason, it would tell me that there’s something wrong with you.
“I would love to blame Gerrard for that, I can blame him for an awful lot of things, but I don’t think he can be blamed for Sanson’s move not working out at Villa.
“It was just a move that seemed a bit strange at the time when they did bring him in because I think there wasn’t a pathway into the team for him and he wasn’t better than the midfielders at the club.
“I think Villa have accelerated as a club and he’s just end up being further away from being good enough for Villa.
I’m sure he’ll be a decent player in France or somewhere else, but it just hasn’t worked out at Villa.
“When three managers haven’t played you, I don’t think you can blame one manager.”
It’s been a really disappointing spell for Sanson at Villa since he joined the club from Marseille in 2021, having scored just one goal in 23 appearances.
As Bardell points out, it’s probably down to the player that his move hasn’t worked out after three managers decided not to hand him many opportunities at Villa Park.
It’s pretty clear now that he probably isn’t at the same standard as some of the other Villans players and is likely to complete a permanent move away from the club before too long.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has mooted a high-profile exit after a £110million+ development has emerged.
