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As reported by Gregg Evans, now of The Athletic, Stoke City are closing in on a loan deal for Scott Hogan.
#avfc striker Scott Hogan is closing in on a loan move to Stoke City. #scfc . Villa have options lined up to replace him @TheAthleticUK has been told.
— Gregg Evans (@greggevans40) August 6, 2019
The Aston Villa striker will leave on a season long loan deal to the Championship side after falling down the pecking order at the Villa.
Signed by Steve Bruce in 2017, Hogan has never endured a true run in the team. In fact, his period of success over the winter period of that season was brought to an end by the loan signing of Lewis Grabban. Bruce cast Hogan aside in 2018, refusing him a loan move to Sheffield United. Under Dean Smith, Hogan was eventually granted that exact move in 2019, where he managed to pick up game time ahead of a return to Aston Villa.
It would seem that the Villa are yet to be fully convinced by Hogan’s abilities. Signed from Brentford (Dean Smith’s Brentford, that is), he was never played in a setup that actually suited him - and Bruce never seemed to be that swayed by Hogan, at all.
Hogan will get his chance at Stoke under Nathan Jones - who will play him in a tactical plan not too dissimilar from Dean Smith’s at Brentford. The hope is that he’ll thrive and start to enjoy his football again.
Well, as long as the ball is played on the floor!