Aston Villa: Steve Bruce needs to trust Tommy Elphick this season

The veteran centre-back should see a lot of playing time under current transfer conditions. Elphick, in the final year of his deal, is battling Mile Jedinak for a starting role.

Brought to the club as the first signing of the Roberto Di Matteo, and Tony Xia era, Tommy Elphick’s Villa career has been disappointing, similar to the other aforementioned duo’s time here in Birmingham.

Elphick is still very much here, and in the fold, especially with the departure of John Terry and Chris Samba from last season’s squad. Due to the precarious position Villa find themselves in financially, Bruce can’t afford not to place his trust in Elphick this season.

It would represent a dramatic u-turn on the part of Bruce, who shipped Elphick to Reading on loan in January, despite impressive displays in the absence of Terry.

More from Claret Villans

Of his Aston Villa 4 appearances last term, Elphick helped the club to 3 clean sheets, with just 1 defeat in that time. The decision to loan Elphick out didn’t really harm Villa, as Terry and James Chester continued to show a level of consistency, that even if Elphick was still at the club, he would have found it impossible to dislodge either of them.

Bruce has, at times, been making use of Elphick this pre-season in a 3-back season.

You would think with Villa only having 2 senior centre-backs on the books (Elphick, Chester) that he’d be a shoe-in whatever shape Villa adopt, but Bruce has also picked Alan Hutton, Mile Jedinak and James Bree in spells alongside Chester in some games, with Elphick the fall guy on the bench.

The team selection for the Hull game is very much up in the air, with potentially half the lineup not assured a starting place, but Elphick needs to be one of the names on Steve Bruce’s eighteen week-in and week-out barring more, and better, defensive additions.

Home/Analysis