Aston Villa midfielder, Aaron Tshibola has sealed a move to Scottish Premiership club, Kilmarnock. The 23-year-old returned to Villa Park after serving a short loan spell with League One side, MK Dons under Robbie Nielson. Tshibola has appeared in 18 games this season scoring the thrice and assisting just once.
The Newham-born midfielder started his professional career with Reading where he made his debut on August 2014 against Nottingham Forest. After spending a season out on loan to Hartlepool United, scouts from Aston Villa noticed his talents and the club signed him up on a four year deal in the summer of 2016. Breaking into the Villa first team turned out to be harder than expected and Tshibola had to fight for his spot at a different side. Tshibola was used sparingly by former manager Roberto Di Matteo in the opening 11 matches of last season and made just four appearances after Steve Bruce’s October arrival.
But a player who failed to make the grade at Villa and Nottingham Forest was left in a very precarious predicament. Now with the move to the Scottish Premiership, there might be a ray of hope for the player to revive his career and get the ground running once again.
Primarily a holding midfielder, Tshibola does have a decent amount of skill to make him an offensive threat. The 6 feet 3 inches structure is athletically gifted to outmuscle opposing defenders in the English game but often falls short in terms of quality. But his career cannot be ruled out as a bust just yet. At just 23 the years are on his side and he can still carve out a starting spot with the talents he already possesses.
Kilmarnock can be the perfect escape for Tshibola judging the squad strength Steve Bruce already has in his position. The Villans are currently cruising to the top of the Championship having won 4 of their last 5 games. They are coming off a 3-1 showing against Barnsley last weekend, where Birkir Bjarnason was fielded in the anchor role.
Kilmarnock are currently in the 7th spot of the Scottish Championship and are eyeing for a finish further up the table. They just lost their 8th league game of the season against Aberdeen last night where the match ended 3-1. Steve Clark’s men were completely outclassed by the title-contending Dons and are in dire need of additional talent for the remainder of the season. It remains to see whether the signing of Tshibola might help them to revive their season.
