Player #967 for Aston Villa, Morgan Stéphane Sanson, known as Morgan Sanson has played as a midfielder for the club since the 2020-21 season.

Morgan was born in Saint-Doulchard, France on 18 August 1994 and made his debut for Villa at the age of 26 on Wednesday, 3 February 2021.

Villa had signed Sanson on 26 January 2021 from Olympique Marseille for a fee of £14,220,000.

On signing Sanson described his attraction to the move saying “It’s a magical club, a big club in England. When Aston Villa called me, I didn’t have to think about it for a long time – it was the best opportunity for me and my career.”

A player with happy knack of scoring meaningful goal - winners and equalisers more often than not Villa bought an almost like for like replacement for the out on loan Conor Hourihane - who incidentally had been signed four years to the day previously to Sanson’s arrival.

A player who has occupied positions across midfield with a combative approach and strong shooting ability, Sanson also has a defensive side to his game and experience of playing in the Champions League as Dean Smith prepares to realise his ambitions for Villa.

Villa’s acquisition of Sanson came despite there being no obvious space in a starting XI featuring Douglas Luiz and John McGinn dovetailing in the defensive midfield and the attacking prowess of Ross Barkley and Jack Grealish further forward. However with Barkley’s loan ending in May 2021 and no permanent deal yet signed, and Douglas Luiz subject to a buy-back clause that does not expire until June 2021, Sanson’s signing was a defensive one both physically and metaphorically.

As one scout revealed:

“It’s his energy that makes him a perfect fit for Villa. In the past, Villa have signed players who needed time to adjust to a new style and a new league. This shouldn’t be the case with Sanson because he plays in a similar way to the other midfielders who press high to win the ball back.”

For Dean Smith’s part he admitted:

“We’re never going to turn our noses up at a good value deal to bring a player in. We’re getting a player who we know is robust enough to deal with the demands of the Premier League.”

“He has ability on the ball to see a pass and create. He’ll also break things up because he’s got good energy around the midfield area. He’ll give us an awful lot in the midfield area because he’s a hybrid player. He can play as 10, 8 or a 6.”

Brought to the club 6 months ahead of expectation due to Olympique Marseille’s financial difficulties his arrival didn’t come without controversy as Dean Smith appeared to be unprepared to provide opportunities for Sanson to get up to speed.

Sitting out the first two fixtures completely, Sanson was brought into the side for a 10’ cameo against West Ham on a torrid night for Villa, before three further substitute appearances through to March 2021, none of which lasted more than 14’.

As a result frustration began to build from the supporters, especially given Villa’s indifferent form and the absence of captain Jack Grealish and misfiring Ross Barkley. Great expectation was therefore placed on the shoo-in that was the Sheffield United fixture where all-comers believed Sanson would be given his full debut against what was proving to be the weakest top flight side since Villa’s pathetic 2015-16 squad. Dean Smith however had other ideas and limited Sanson to a 20’ run out as Villa toiled to their worst performance - and result of the season. Shades of Martin O’Neill in Moscow abounded and a lost opportunity for points and player development became a huge bone of contention for the Villa faithful and placed Dean Smith on the back foot for perhaps the first time in his Villa career.

Inexplicably, Smith started Sanson in the following fixture against much tougher, more mobile opposition further compounding the missed opportunity. Sanson would play for an hour, before returning to the subs bench for the following fixture and then either side of the March international break Sanson was given consecutive starts.

It was clear however that acclimatisation to the rigours of the Premier League was going to be a longer term process for Sanson as regular bookings for mis-timed tackles bore out. Whether those issued could have been mitigated by a more positive introduction to English football is a moot point but enough was seen of Sanson to suggest given a proper run in the side, Villa, and Dean Smith had a genuine player on their hands.

Time would tell how well he would be used.