Villa midfielder sent out on Turkish loan

Perhaps I'm an outlier, but I couldn't be happier to hear that midfielder Yacouba Sylla is going out on a year-long loan to Kayseri Erciyesspor in the Turkish Super League. Sylla was absolutely awful last season for Aston Villa, and the Mali international made me angry every time he saw the pitch.

But the move to Turkey could be a good one for Sylla. You may recall that he showed a lot of promise in the latter half of the 2012-13 season after Paul Lambert brought him in. The performance we saw last year was especially aggravating because we knew that Sylla could actually play decently well.

And maybe he will get the chance to re-prove that while on loan. If he can regain the form we saw when he first came to Villa, he could be a useful addition to the club upon his return. If he can't be, it's no significant loss.

I'm increasingly beginning to be really happen with what Aston Villa are doing this summer. Or at least with what Paul Lambert is doing. The strictures under which he has to work are terrible and yet somehow he keeps making what look, on paper at least, to be smart moves.