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Aaron Tshibola is 22-years-old and cost £5 million - but he has still only played 24 matches at Championship level.

Aside from a beneficial loan spell with League Two side Hartlepool United during the second half of the 2014/15 season, Tshibola has had to make do minimal minutes for Reading, Aston Villa and now Nottingham Forest.

During three seasons as a professional with Championship clubs, Tshibola has managed just 1,238 minutes which begs the question: is he ready for life in the second tier?

The midfielder has worked under two Villa managers in Roberto Di Matteo and Steve Bruce. Having been signed by the aforementioned Italian as one of last summer’s big money signings, £5 million Tshibola rarely featured under the Champions League winning manager.

A cameo off the bench against Newcastle United in September during Di Matteo’s final trudge down the Villa Park touchline before his October sacking produced his best moment in claret and blue.

A fantastic far post header from Jordan Ayew’s corner rescued a point when the Magpies should have been out of sight.

But his Villa story has been far from straightforward since...

Where has it gone wrong?

Once it became clear that Bruce was keen to move for Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane to bolster a midfield that struggled during the first part of the season, Tshibola realised his game time would be limited.

Having played Bruce’s first match against Wolves, Tshibola had to wait until January 2 before he pulled on the club’s colours again.

The youngster wanted to go out and enjoy first team football and had plenty of interest from Scotland and the Championship.

Current Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton, then Rangers boss, was said to be keen on luring Tshibola to Ibrox to sample SPL football before his shock departure.

However, Villa chose to let him join Forest in a bid to allow him to prove himself at Championship level.

How has it gone at Forest?

Not well, by all accounts. Tshibola started the first two matches he was available for after joining the East Midlanders but has found himself on the peripheries ever since.

Those two matches ended in defeats, 5-1 and 3-2 to Norwich City and Fulham respectively.

In the six weeks that have followed those matches, Tshibola has taken to the hallowed turf just once for a quick stroll against Brighton when the match was already sewn up.

Forest view…

We spoke to Barry Cooper from the Nottingham Post, who was able to provide the following insight into Tshibola’s loan spell at The City Ground.

“He hasn’t been involved at all. He came on at the end against Brighton and barely touched the ball before the final whistle went.

“The impression I get is that Tshibola and McCormack weren’t Gary Brazil’s signings - I think they were Fawaz Al Hasawi’s signings.

“You can see there’s talent there. It’s difficult for a young player to come in and change a team that’s struggling near the bottom of the league. He hasn’t featured since the win against Brighton.

“I think he needs to go out and get regular football next season. I can’t see how he’s going to play for Forest between now and the end of the season.”

Does he have a Villa future?

Given his age, Tshibola still has time on his side to turn things around - but it looks increasingly likely that his future lies away from Villa Park.

Like Ross McCormack, Villa will struggle to recoup the money they lashed out on Tshibola last year if they seek to offload him this summer.

With Henri Lansbury and Conor Hourihane having made themselves the firm picks for the two central midfield roles in Bruce’s current 4-4-2 system and Gary Gardner waiting in the wings, Tshibola isn’t going to get the desired first team football at Villa in the near future.

If Villa can’t offload him, a loan move where first team football is almost a guarantee is needed to reignite his career next season.