Recent reports confirm that Aston Villa defender Tommy Elphick is set to have his medical before a move to Reading FC. The 30-year-old has barely featured for the Claret and Blues under Steve Bruce with just 425 minutes of game time this season. He is set to leave Villa Park on a loan spell and the Royals are prepared to give him an escape.
Elphick arrived at Villa Park in the summer of 2016 on a £3m transfer fee and was hailed to be one of the club’s saviours at the time. He was already a key figure for the Cherries and had impressed the Aston Villa scouts over his 145 appearances for Bournemouth. But his career has taken an unlikely turn towards a rough patch and Bruce might be forced to sanction a move for the Brighton-born defender. With a series of injuries, first team action has been hard to come by and the competition for a first team spot is rife among the Villa ranks.
Elphick was an instant hit on his arrival and received support from the fans to be made club captain judging by his leadership skill from the defensive backline. He has always been a starter and warming the benches are not in his career ambitions especially at the age of just 30.
Reading are nowhere close to the playoff spots and have only managed to secure the 18th spot of the EFL Championship this season. They are coming off a 0-1 loss to Brentford last weekend at home and are on an 8-game winless streak. Jaap Stam has struggled to field with his best side after some his key players went down with injuries over the course of the season.
Liam Moore returned to the lineup last week with club captain Paul McShane still tending to his wounds on the sidelines. Midfielder John Swift has also been ruled out for a certain period after picking up a knock last week.
McShane’s absence has been costing the side defensively. The domineering figure has been replaced by Tiago Ilori in the centre-back position, who has been less than ideal against the Bees. The club is just 5 points above the relegation zone and a battle for survival is beckoning with the second half of the season already upon us.
Aston Villa, on the other hand, are cruising to the playoff spots and can do without the services of Tom Elphick after John Terry returned to the lineup earlier this month. Elphick’s experience will come handy in Reading’s hope for surviving the season in the Championship.
