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Aston Villa: Andre Green needs to prove himself all over again

By Dean Caffrey

COLCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 09: Aston Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer celebrates with Andre Green after saving a penalty during the Carabao Cup First Round match between Colchester United and Aston Villa at Colchester Community Stadium on August 9, 2017 in Colchester, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
COLCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 09: Aston Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer celebrates with Andre Green after saving a penalty during the Carabao Cup First Round match between Colchester United and Aston Villa at Colchester Community Stadium on August 9, 2017 in Colchester, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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After bursting on the scene in the second half of the 2016/2017 season, this campaign was one to forget for Aston Villa winger André Green. The explosive attacker lost crucial development time through injury.

The winger played only 5 games across the entire campaign, in large part due to a nasty hamstring injury picked up in January. It’s a real shame he’s been unavailable – especially towards the end of the season when Albert Adomah’s form curtailed and there was nobody in the squad to seriously challenge him for that left wing spot. It would have been nice to have another option to add extra impetus and an injection of pace into the team.

He proved how much he can trouble the opposition last season as the full back would back off him fearing one wrong tackle and Green would be away from them in an instant. His directness was refreshing to see, especially in the early team without Jack Grealish  One bright note is that Green scored his first senior goal in August against Norwich in a game that kicked off Aston Villa’s season. His sublime left wing curler offered promise for a breakthrough year.

I feel that the brilliant form of Adomah and Snodgrass, as well as the enforced period out-of-action has made some people forget about the ability that Green possesses.

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He definitely offers different qualities than the two aforementioned wingers. With Snodgrass perhaps not returning, Green has the chance to prove himself all over again. A slight worry would be that some players are never the same after a long absence, or at least take a long while to get back up to speed which requires a patience and trust in a player not often afforded in a player when the manager can just buy another player in the transfer market immediately.

A close example would be Jordan Amavi, who came back from a horrible injury but never quite reached the standard he previously set, and Neil Taylor was swiftly brought in as a replacement.

The recent contract extension for Green means he’s in a claret and blue shirt for the foreseeable future. He has the chance to prove himself all over again.

At the very worst, expect André Green to be a fixture in the Villa eighteen next season, health permitting.

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