2019-2020 Player Preview: Frédéric Guilbert

Frédéric Guilbert came to Aston Villa on a move from SM Caen this past January window. Part of the deal was that the French right-back would finish the season out with Caen as they battled for survival in League 1 until the very last day. (Spoiler alert: they were relegated). This was not entirely to the fault of the fullback, obviously, who played in 38 games all competitions for the club last season.

So far this preseason in claret and blue, Guilbert seems to have entirely solidified the right-back spot as his own, and has begun showing us what he’s made of. A physical, scrappy defender who sticks to his position wide defensively, but one that also isn’t scared to fly forward and link up with the winger on his side before slotting a ball into the box.

Whether it be Anwar El Ghazi, Trezeguet, Jota, or someone else, there’s real potential for our right hand side to be very dangerous going forward, and very solid defensively. One worry thus far is his physicality, and a stat that stands out is his 9 yellow cards in the league last season, and already a handful through the preseason thus far.

He’s adapting to the style well, and hopefully the Frenchman continues to prove way more than his worth in the Premier League this coming season.