Had Marseille not been comfortably sitting in second spot in Ligue 1, calmly awaiting the end of the season to get Champions League football, Morgan Sanson’s future would have been in doubt.
After all, the midfielder is one of the club’s more profitable assets, and with a number of Premier League clubs often linked with a move for his services, rumours circle almost constantly.
Even now, even after the player said he ‘laughed’ at paper talk surrounding his future, he keeps getting linked to England, with Aston Villa the latest side reportedly keen on him.
Yet, regardless of the appeal the Premier League has, it seems Sanson isn’t thinking about a move to Villa Park anytime soon.
Jeunes Footeux in France claim ‘there is little chance an agreement could be found’ because the 25-year-old ‘isn’t interested at all at the idea of joining Aston Villa’.
Who can blame him, really? He is a guaranteed starter in a team very likely to play Champions League football next season, which leads to the question of why would he swap that for a team currently struggling in a relegation battle and who could, realistically, end up returning to the Championship?
The website explain that if there ever were a departure from the south of France, Sanson would ‘privilege a club playing in Europe’.
Unfortunately for Aston Villa, they lost their last chance of doing so in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend in the Carabao Cup final.