Ritchie De Laet is probably done at Aston Villa

As Aston Villa move closer to completing a loan deal for Axel Tuanzebe, it looks as though they are making room for that move by allowing Ritchie De Laet to leave the club.

The Belgian defender has endured a awful time at Aston Villa, defined by an audible fracture obtained while playing for the club in the Championship last season. While De Laet’s quality has never been in question, his injury pushed him wide out of the first-team picture at Villa Park. The signing of James Bree and Ahmed Elmohamady also pushed De Laet out of contention.

Who are in the market for him? Well - due to his past at Manchester United, it seems as though a move to Royal Antwerp is on the cards, according to John Percy of The Telegraph. Royal Antwerp enjoy a partnership with United and have exchanged players in the past. This rumor is sealed by the fact that De Laet was a youth graduate at Antwerp before moving to United. In all honesty, it looks like he’s going to back to where he started out.

It’s a shame that it didn’t work out for Ritchie at Villa, but with this move only being a loan, who knows what the future might hold?