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Aston Villa comment: Everybody wins with Kortney Hause move

Kortney Hause's move across the West Midlands from Wolves to Villa is a deal which benefits all parties.

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Wolves have made a profit on a player who joined them for just £175,000 from Wycombe back in January, 2014.

Villa, meanwhile, get a former England under-21 international whose best years should be ahead of him for the relative bargain price – certainly in today’s transfer market – of £3million.

The biggest beneficiary of the move is unquestionably Hause, who will now get the chance to test himself in the Premier League having found himself out of favour and no longer part of the future plans at Molineux.

It is an opportunity the 23-year-old thoroughly deserves after the part he played in helping Villa reclaim their Premier League status.

Hause, unlucky with injury and arguably a little overshadowed by the colossal impact of fellow defender and January arrival Tyrone Mings, might be regarded as an unsung hero of the piece.

There should be no ignoring, however, his contribution in transforming Villa’s defence from one of the leakiest in the Championship to one of the strongest.

The club record 10-match winning run which reignited the season was built on solid foundations which Hause, who started the first six of those games, helped to lay.

A hip injury, suffered in the pivotal 3-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday in early April, might have led to him losing his place in the starting XI. But it was Hause who would then get the chance to help Villa over the line in the game which mattered most.

Flung into the fray when Mings suffered injury late on against Derby at Wembley, Hause held his nerve at the moment when both he and Villa had everything to lose.

His loan spell at Villa was a lesson on why it pays not to judge a player too quickly.

Kortney Hause signed for Wolves from Wycombe in January 2014

There were plenty ready to write him off after shaky early showings against Wigan at Brentford.

Yet an impressive performance at left-back in an otherwise dire team display against Albion saw the tide of opinion shift significantly.

Villa’s coaching staff, meanwhile, were encouraged by the attitude of a player eager to improve, with the ability to quickly take on board instructions handed down by boss Dean Smith and assistant John Terry.

It was Hause who, following an injury to Tommy Elphick, agreed without hesitation a switch to the right-hand side of central defence, a position in which he had not previously played.

The 12 total appearances for Villa were double the amount he had made for Wolves over the previous two campaigns, where the imperious form of Willy Boly meant opportunities were always going to be limited.

Prior to then he had been a regular in the Championship under Kenny Jackett, Walter Zenga and Paul Lambert.

Hause was out injured when Nuno Espirito Santo arrived in the summer of 2017, setting in motion Wolves’ rapid and dramatic transformation.

“Sometimes players get left behind,” Nuno said when discussing Leo Bonatini last season.

Hause too, it is fair to say, falls into the category. His performances for Villa provided a reminder of his talent and potential.

Had their option to buy not been triggered, there was serious interest from elsewhere.

The one regret for Wolves, perhaps, is that without the prior agreement with Villa they might now have been able to negotiate a larger fee.