Andre Green and Aaron Tshibola head for Villa exit door (temporarily)

In a rather surprising move, Aston Villa have released Andre Green from action so he may spend a season of football on-loan at Portsmouth. In a rather unsurprising move, Aston Villa have released Aaron Tshibola from action so he may spend a season of football on-loan at Kilmarnock. Both players will head out on season-long loan deals and return to Villa upon the conclusion of the 18/19 season.

Green’s move was announced after Villa bowed out of the Carabao Cup, and confirmed a short time ago by both clubs. Aaron Tshibola’s move will take him back north to Steve Clarke and Kilmarnock, where he spent a large portion of last season, while Andre Green’s move takes him to pastures new, as he heads down a league to help Portsmouth compete for promotion to the Championship from League One.

While Tshibola’s move was widely expected as the Congolese midfielder is merely a shadow at B6 alongside Micah Richards and Ross McCormack, Andre Green was expected to compete for a starting place at Villa. The incoming loan deals of Anwar El Ghazi and Yannick Bolasie seem to have prevented that, with Ahmed Elmohamady and Albert Adomah both above Green in the wide pecking order. So, widely, it’s a move that makes sense. However, a lot was made of Andre Green’s progress after coming back from injury - so there will still be a bit of upset with him heading out the door for the time being. What’s more, Aston Villa’s rotation, or lack of it, is a known issue. You’d think that there’d be room for Green at Villa. At least 40 games in League One won’t harm his development.

We’ll see both these guys at the end of the season, with Green likely progressing within the team while Tshibola seeks a move away from Villa Park.