7500 To Holte: Aston Villa, Eric Lichaj Stand To Benefit From Loan To Leeds United
Eric Lichaj was doing nobody any good while residing in Gerrard Houllier's doghouse. He wasn't playing for Aston Villa, wasn't developing and certainly wasn't doing anything to further his professional or international careers. In that sense, 7500 to Holte, SB Nation's Aston Villa's blog, thinks the rest-of-season loan to Leeds United must be a good thing.
In seriousness, though, the 7500 team has been on the “send Lichaj on loan” bandwagon for a couple months now. It’s better for his development to have him playing regular matches, and USMNT supporters will likely appreciate the young defender’s chance to improve.
The move to Leeds is hard not to see as a demotion, though, and it probably is. If Lichaj could break back into Houllier’s good graces, it would be preferable from almost all angles that he remain with Villa. Problem is, there’s precious little reason to believe that was going to happen. The 22-year-old has not seen a minute of field time with the senior team since a disastrous performance against Machester City on Dec. 28. This move is just the latest sign that Houllier was not ready to trust his right back position to Lichaj anytime soon.
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