Why Aston Villa should not hold onto Keinan Davis

According to Football Insider (h/t Birmingham Mail), Keinan Davis has signed a new contract extension with Aston Villa.

The 22-year-old striker’s current contract with the Villans was set to expire this summer. However, the report suggests that Villa have now tied him down to the club for another 12 months before taking any more decisions regarding his long-term future.

Davis had missed a major share of this season due to injuries, featuring just 13 times for the newly-promoted side. However, he returned to the side as back-up for winter signing Mbwana Samatta before play got suspended due to coronavirus crisis.

Davis, who joined Villa as a 17-year-old back in December 2015 has, however, failed to nail down a regular spot in the side until now. Despite joining them five years ago, Davis has managed just 57 appearances across all competitions and has a mere four goals to his name.

He played the most for Villa during the 2017-18 campaign when they were still playing in the Championship. Davis featured in 31 matches for Villa that season but could manage only three goals.

Since then, his performances have slipped, with the young finisher playing just seven times last season. Lack of matches seems to have frustrated Davis, who craved for a loan move someplace else. However, manager Dean Smith succeeded in persuading the young Englishman to stay back at Villa Park.

Opportunities will be rare for Keinan Davis at Aston Villa

Davis initially started as a back-up for new summer signing Wesley before injuries restricted him to the sidelines this season. However, now with Samatta’s arrival in January, Davis’ chances of making into the first-team line-up seem increasingly limited.

Wesley, who suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in January, will mostly remain as Smith’s first-choice man when fit but Davis still has Samatta as competition. Moreover, Villa also have forward Borja Baston in the side but the Spaniard won’t be much of a threat for Davis as he is way down the pecking order.

Despite that, Villa’s decision to extend Davis’ deal still seems foolish as it is clear that Davis will find opportunities rare to come by with Wesley and Sammatta in the side. Hence, it would be better if they let him go permanently or send him on loan.

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Verdict

With Aston Villa already having four strikers including Davis in their mix, a contract extension seems absurd. Given the fact that he has failed to perform all these years, he is just surplus to their requirements at the moment.