Aston Villa are extremely unlikely to bring Robert Snodgrass back for a second spell after he featured for West Ham on Saturday, The Birmingham Mail reports.
What’s the word?
After catching the eye on loan with Aston Villa last season, it was not surprising to see Steve Bruce express an interest in signing Scotland international Robert Snodgrass again for the 2018-19 season and The Birmingham Mail states a permanent deal would have been pursued if the club won in the playoff final.
Defeat to Fulham ended the chances of that happening and a deal now looks to be extremely unlikely, despite The Birmingham Mail stating earlier this month that Bruce had asked Manuel Pellegrini if he can sign Snodgrass on loan.
The experienced winger made his first start for the Hammers in over a year in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, playing 77 minutes of the game at the London Stadium before being replaced by former Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez.
While the signings of Lucas Perez, Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson have handed Snodgrass plenty of competition for a spot in the first-team, it appears that Pellegrini still has a use for the 30-year-old in his squad.
How much of a blow is this?
The news that Aston Villa are unlikely to sign Snodgrass on a second stint should not come as too much as a surprise to fans, as over the course of the summer it increasingly looked like this is a deal that Villa were set to miss out on.
After impressing Pellegrini in pre-season, Snodgrass’ experience could prove to be vital for the Hammers in their quest to fight into the top half of the Premier League but there is no denying it leaves a huge void for Villa to fill.
Snodgrass starred at Villa Park last season by scoring seven goals and contributing 14 assists, establishing himself as the creative hub in the final third for Steve Bruce’s side and providing the benchmark for any new winger that could arrive.
Bruce will be forced to eye alternative targets in the market with just a few weeks left until the loan window closes on the 31st August but will struggle to land a player who can provide the same impact as Snodgrass.
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