Dean Smith was full of praise for Kortney Hause and believes the Aston Villa defender “did really well” against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Hause initially struggled after his loan move from Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was criticised on his debut outing against Wigan Athletic and was an unused substitute in the four league games that followed.
Smith handed the 23-year-old a start against Brentford on February 13 and against West Brom on Saturday and says he’s happy with the defender’s response. Hause has a buying option attached to his loan contract, so his upturn in form is good news for the future. He’s filled a void at left-back and will provide cover at centre-back too.
When asked how impressed with Kortney Hause’s performance against West Bromwich Albion, Smith said in Thursday’s pre-match press conference: “Yea, I thought he did really well. I thought he grew into the Brentford game – it was a tough first 20, 30 minutes for him. And I thought he had a very good game last week and was probably disappointed to be on the losing team.”
Hause is likely to keep his place at left-back against Stoke on Saturday despite Neil Taylor returning from injury. The 30-year-old has made only five appearances in 11 weeks and was an unused substitute on the weekend. He may have be patient for opportunities as Hause has clearly made an impression on Smith.
