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With the off-season upon us, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the future of many Aston Villa players. One such player, Yacouba Sylla looks set to depart if the reports are true.
After an uninspired season and a half at the club following his January 2013 signing from French side Clermont Foot, Villa allowed Sylla to spend the entire season on loan at Turkish Süper Lig side Kayseri Erciyesspor. Despite featuring 19 times, scoring one, it appears as though the Malian midfielder has no future back at Villa, with 'Get Football News France' reporting that the player is available for as little as £1 million this summer.
It's not really surprising that Sylla seems to be on the way out, he serves as a perfect example of the Paul Lambert regime; average at best, and no flair. Of course, that isn't to say that Sylla isn't a decent player, he looked decent on occasion during his 22 game spell with the club. However, with Ashley Westwood, Carlos Sanchez and probably Gary Gardner ahead of him in a deep lying midfield role, and future opportunities for him at the club may be limited.
As for the validity of the rumour, the source doesn't appear to be that great; although the Birmingham Mail have also reported it, so maybe they know something we don't. The reported fee of £1 million has seemingly been taken out of the air, but seeing how Villa signed him for around £2 million, the number probably isn't too far fetched. The final issue that I have with this is that there doesn't seem to be any indication as to where he might be going. But even if it isn't true, it's hard to argue a case that doesn't involve Yacouba Sylla departing Aston Villa this summer. To sum up, whilst the rumour probably isn't true, it is also kind of true in that it's probably going to happen. How profound!
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