If you followed the dying days of the transfer window as an Aston Villa fan, you might have caught wind that Frédéric Guilbert was potentially on his way out.
We covered it, with Nantes’ interest in the defender reportedly ‘more than concrete’, but nothing came of it in the end, and the right-back ended up staying at Villa Park.
The 25-year-old has only made two appearances under Dean Smith this season, with both outings coming in the EFL Cup, but he has yet to feature in a match day squad in the Premier League.
That’s not ideal for a player who wants to get regular minutes, and the move to Nantes would have given just that had it happened.
Speaking to We Are Malherbe in France, a website dedicated to his former club, Caen, the defender explained what happened over the last few days of the window.
He said, relayed by Girondins4Ever: “At the moment, I’m not playing at all. I’ve been told I’m third choice for my role. They’re choices, you need to respect them, even if they have been completely honest on all points, maybe even not at all, but well…
“Aston Villa bought Matty Cash for €16m during the window. It’s a huge amount and he’s a good player. They’re choices. You need to accept them and fight to play. After that, if I have to leave, I’ll leave.
“It nearly got done with Nantes. I had the manager Gourcuff on the phone. He wanted me and everything, but after that I didn’t get any news from the club’s board. It would have been a loan”.
