The future of Jordan Veretout’s career is of great interest to the French media, especially since he has impressed since his return to Ligue 1 on loan at Saint-Etienne from Aston Villa.
Bought by Tim Sherwood for the 2015-16 season, the Villa loanee was part of the squad that was relegated to the Championship, and quickly made it clear he wanted to avoid playing in the second-tier.
The midfielder hasn’t exactly hidden his joy about his time back in Ligue 1, giving various interviews about how well things are going, yet he has always been coy about his future as the loan deal with the French side doesn’t include a buyout clause.
And things haven’t changed, as he explained to But! Football Club: “We’ll see. People ask me this question a lot, more and more, but there’s eight games left. I’m focused on the end of the season. I’ll think about my future afterwards. We have the holidays to discuss it.
“Staying at Sainté, I’m not saying no, nor am I saying yes. I just want to think about football and we’ll see after the last game week how things go.”
We’ve covered the likelihood of a deal happening in the past, and Saint-Etienne’s financial situation will most likely make it difficult for them to meet Aston Villa’s valuation of the player, which will have only increased following this good season.
Unless the Villains agree a cut price deal, or another (paid) loan with a buyout clause, with Les Verts next season, our bet is Veretout will either stay at Villa Park, or go to another club, just not Saint-Etienne.
