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Summer clear-outs have become a ritual at Aston Villa in recent years with each manager’s transfer mishaps offloaded in the close season.

Current boss Steve Bruce made it his mission to balance the books at Villa Park last summer after previous managers’ lavish spending.

In total, Villa managed to clear seven players off their wage bill for good, while a further six were moved out on loan.

But have Villa been vindicated in their decision to get rid of the unwanted seven?

Nathan Baker

Baker was perhaps the departure that angered Villa supporters most given his lengthy affiliation with the club having risen through the ranks.

The Worcester-born defender had made himself a mainstay in Bruce’s team during the 2016/17 campaign but the club’s captures of John Terry and Chris Samba pushed him down the pecking order.

A move to former loan club Bristol City was sanctioned in late July and Baker’s career appears to be on the verge of lift off.

The 26-year-old has started the vast majority of Bristol's Championship matches this season and helped them to sixth place with 15 games to go.

Baker endured an evening to forget at Villa Park on New Year's Day as the Robins were beaten 5-0 by Villa. He was also sent off as they beat QPR at the end of January and hasn't played since.

Leandro Bacuna

Like Baker, Bacuna’s departure also came as a bit of a shock to the Villa faithful given his lofty standing in Bruce’s thinking last season.

But with the likes of Glenn Whelan and Josh Onomah on board, Bruce opted to offload the Curacao international.

Groningen-born Bacuna was handed a Championship lifeline by Reading manager Jaap Stam and joined the Royals in a deal worth in excess of £1.5million.

Since then, Bacuna has been a regular at the Madejski and made 28 appearances in all competitions. One of his best performances arrived in the Second City against Villa’s fierce rivals Birmingham City in late August as Reading ran out 2-0 victors.

However, Bacuna is facing a similar scenario to what he experienced with Villa last season following a poor start to the season and 18th-placed Reading are well and truly trying to keep their heads above water.

Jordan Veretout

Veretout was one of the last remaining traces of Paddy Riley’s failed recruitment drive at Villa Park and joined Italian side Fiorentina in the summer.

The Frenchman spent pre-season with Villa but never looked like forcing his way into Bruce’s plans following a year at Saint-Etienne.

Veretout has enjoyed a solid start to his time in Florence with five goals in his first 25 appearances.

Fiorentina are 11th in Serie A and some way away from the coveted European places they have competed for in years gone by.

Carlos Sanchez

Sanchez would have been able to give Veretout a glowing reference having spent last season on loan at Fiorentina - a move which was made permanent once an appearance clause was triggered.

The Colombian found his game-time limited under Stefano Pioli this season, partly due to the arrival of Veretout.

In a bid to ensure he's still part of Colombia's squad heading to the Russia World Cup, Sanchez linked up with Spanish side Espanyol in January.

Sanchez has made two appearances in La Liga so far.

Aly Cissokho

A move to Turkey with Malatyaspor was Cissokho’s next step after being told he had no future at Villa under Bruce upon returning from a loan spell with Olympiakos.

Cissokho and his team-mates have enjoyed a decent start to life in the Super Lig following their promotion to the Turkish top flight.

Cissokho has started 19 matches for his new club as they sit in mid-table.

Jordan Amavi

Bruce made the decision early on to replace Amavi at left-back and bring in someone he perceived to be a more reliable defender in Neil Taylor.

While Taylor doesn’t possess the attacking capabilities of the Frenchman, he is more capable defensively and is rarely exposed.

Amavi, meanwhile, was shifted out and landed a big move to French giants Marseille. The move was initially a loan switch but has since been made permanent.

Despite vast competition for places at Marseille, Amavi has made the left-back slot his own and is beginning to rediscover the form which he displayed before his devastating knee injury at Villa.

His displays against the likes of PSG and Nice have earned him senior international recognition with France as he was called up for World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Belarus in October.

Despite not making his debut for Les Bleus, Amavi has been tipped for stardom at the highest level with his country.

Libor Kozak

Kozak, whose injury troubles at Villa limited him to just 22 appearances in four years, started life at FC Bari with a couple of niggling injuries - but he scored his first goal for the club at the weekend.

His 63rd minute strike against Frosinone was his first competitive strike since December 2013.

Bari sit fifth in Serie B and entertain realistic hopes of promotion to Serie A.