Jordan Lyden recently revealed to the Oldham Chronicle that Aston Villa would offer him a new contract if he impressed during his loan spell at Oldham Athletic. The Australian midfielder joined the Latics on a short-term deal due to a lack of first-team football and said he’s looking to use Oldham as a vehicle to resurrect his Villa career, with his current deal expiring next summer.
He said: “For me personally, I just need game time now. Villa have told me that if I get game time here, then we can talk about a new contract when I go back. I’d like to stay here for the season, get Oldham promoted and then hopefully I can push on back at Villa from there”. Is a new deal for Lyden likely, however?
Since making his Villa debut in February 2016, the 22-year-old has made just eight appearances in all competitions for the Midlands outfit. He featured four times in the Premier League and twice in the FA Cup that season but has amassed only 39 minutes in the first-team ever since.
Lyden has only made two appearances for an Oldham side are currently in the bottom-half of League Two, so it’s hard to see Dean Smith looking upon him favourably. There’s stiff competition in the Villa midfield too, with John McGinn, Mile Jedinak, Glenn Whelan and Birkir Bjarnason all fighting for game time, so Lyden has a difficult task to work his way up the pecking order.
It’s noble he’s not giving up on his Villa career, but the odds are against Lyden staying at the club past next summer given his lack of first-team activity and all the players ahead of him in the manager’s reckoning.
