“Losing every game really wasn’t cool” – Midfielder pleased with Aston Villa exit

When Aston Villa were relegated to the Championship, the inevitable happened, and a lot of players refused to play in England’s second division.

Among them was midfielder Jordan Veretout, who had only arrived a year before in an £8.5m deal from Nantes, deciding to return to Ligue 1 instead on a loan to Saint-Etienne.

As has been the case for many years, Saint-Etienne aren’t far off the European spots as things stand in the league, and have won four games, which is one more than Aston Villa managed all season last year in the Premier League.

This is why Veretout is happy he decided to return to his home country.

He told Le Progres: “At Saint-Etienne, I’m finding pleasure in playing football again. I’d lost it a bit, and now I’ve found it again. Losing every game really wasn’t cool. 

“I feel good in this shirt. I’m playing in a very good team with a lot of quality. I really think we can do some great things.”

With the Championship already 14 games in, Aston Villa currently find themselves 16th in the table, winning only three games, drawing eight and losing three.

Since his move to Saint-Etienne, Veretout has scored one goal in 11 appearances, which is one more than he managed in 29 for Aston Villa last year in all competitions.