Ruthless Sherwood prepared to hew Aston Villa's back line

Aly Cissokho and Philippe Senderos, both brought into Aston Villa by Paul Lambert last summer, have apparently been told that they can start looking for another club at which to ply their trade. The news comes after Villa manager Tim Sherwood announced that there will be significant changes at the club in the wake of the FA Cup disaster at Wembley on Saturday.

Cissokho has only made two appearances since Tim Sherwood took over at Villa Park, and one of those was in the FA Cup match against Leicester City that saw Sherwood in the stands rather than in the dugout. Senderos has yet to appear under the new manager but part of that may be due to spending most the season coping with injuries picked up duirng international duty.

There are also reports that Sherwood may consider letting Matthew Lowton, Andi Weimann, Carles Gil, and Libor Kozak go as well. With speculation swirling around the fate of Ron Vlaar, Villa could see as many as four defenders heading out this summer. If Ciaran Clark and Jores Okore are healthy, none of the four would be considered first choice, but it would certainly be a blow to Villa's depth in the back.

If Christian Benteke does indeed get sold and Sherwood is allowed to use the £30 million or more on bringing in new players, he may be eyeing a total reload of the Aston Villa system. Certainly some depth at central defense and right back could be brought in, and that amount of money could be used to lure a significant upgrade at left back, likely Villa's weakest position. If Benteke does leave, though, Villa will almost certainly have to spend a significant chunk of his fee on finding a replacement, especially if Weimann and Kozak are headed out as well.

The news of all the pending departures makes me uneasy, but only because I'm not sure what Sherwood will be like in a transfer window. That said, none of the players mentioned have performed so well as to be players that must be held onto, with the exception of Benteke, whose fee could mitigate this issue. There are a few that I'd love to see stick around (Lowton and Gil top that list), but none that would totally break my heart to see go.

What do you think? Is Sherwood crazy for potentially letting so many players walk?