Player #936 for Aston Villa, Frédéric Guilbert, has played as a right back for the club in the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 seasons.

Frédéric was born in Valognes, France on 24 December 1994 and made his debut appearance in the Villa squad at the age of 24 on Friday, 23 August 2019 whilst also making his playing debut in the 2-0 home win over Everton.

Villa had signed Frédéric from SM Caen on 31 January 2019 for a fee of £4,500,000, but immediately loaned him back to his former club until 31 May 2019.

Guilbert adapted well to life in the Premier League, especially for a player whom the club had bought expecting another season in the second tier of English football. Villa’s gain, however, was also Guilbert’s, and he rewarded the club with 29 appearances, including Villa’s ninth League Cup final, 2 goals and 2 assists.

It was a surprise, therefore, that Guilbert was linked with a move away from the club given his successful first season.

The arrival of Matty Cash and the preference for the veteran Ahmed Elmohamady as backup meant Guilbert’s 2020-21 opportunities were indeed limited, but happily, the club did not immediately part ways with a player who deserved to be part of their squad.

Guilbert, though was concerned: “I think my first season was pretty good

“It’s not for everyone to play so many games in their first year. The club signed Matty Cash for £16 million in the transfer window.

“That’s a hell of a lot of money, and he’s a good player. It’s the manager’s choice – you have to accept it and fight to play. If it doesn’t work and if I have to leave, then I will leave.”

Frédéric was returned to the first team squad from the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, 12 December 2020, but despite five squad appearances to the turn of the year, he was yet to make a league appearance for the club in 2020-21.

It was, however, still a shock when, on 31 January 2021, Guilbert was allowed to leave Villa to join RC Strasbourg Alsace on loan to the end of the season after having not been named in the squad for Villa’s previous two games versus Burnley and Southampton.

Dean Smith revealed the thinking behind the move “We bought Matty Cash in at the start of this season because we felt he was a good-value, quality signing from the Championship who’s done ever so well, we’ve also got Elmo (Elmohamady) here and (Guilbert) probably wasn’t going to get the minutes with us having three right-backs. We want him to go out on loan, get minutes under his belt and come back here in the summer.”

Although Ahmed Elmohamady had earned the right through his historic performances and commitment to the Villa cause, it was still a surprise that he was being preferred to the more dynamic Guilbert. The subsequent injury to Matty Cash proved the folly of Smith’s move as Elmohamady struggled on his return to the line-up and often looked off the pace of the game.

Meanwhile, Guilbert’s successful, goalscoring return to Ligue 1 caused further concern amongst the Villa faithful that a potentially key member of the squad had been lost, although allegedly temporarily, for no good reason whatsoever.

They may have taken the boy out of Villa, but they couldn’t take Villa out of the boy, as Guilbert said:

“Yes, I like it here (Strasbourg). I’m a Villan and proud of it, now the truth of today is not tomorrow’s. Only the future will tell us.”

Asked what his greatest moment had been, Guilbert replied:

“Villa vs Brighton, Matt Targett’s goal or the semi-final of the Carabao Cup. Villa Park on fire!”

Sadly, Guilbert would not play for Villa again and was ultimately released by Villa under Unai Emery in January 2023 on a free transfer to RC Strasbourg 🇫🇷 aged 28, having last appeared in a League game for the Villa first team 30 months earlier.