Aston Villa have recalled Swindon Town Right-Back Kaine Kesler-Hayden from his season-long loan at the club.
The 19-year-old signed for Swindon Town on a season-long loan in August, where he made an instant impact. On his debut in a 1-3 win against Scunthorpe United, the full back impressed massively, winning the penalty that led to the equaliser for Swindon. The next game he again impressed, but picked up two yellows against Carlisle United, resulting in his first professional red card. Kesler-Hayden continued to impress throughout all of his 21 games at the County Ground, and on 4th December 2021, he scored his first professional goal in a 2-1 FA Cup victory against Walsall.
Arguably the most stand out performance was in Swindon’s 3rd round FA Cup tie against Manchester City. Despite losing 4-1, and being just 19, the right back looked perfectly comfortable against one of the best teams in the world. His confidence and ability on the ball led to nationwide plaudits, and clips of the impresive tackles he did went viral on twitter.
Just 2 days after his man of the match performance against the champions of England, the right back was recalled from his loan spell by Aston Villa. This decisioname as a pleasant shock for Aston Villa fans, with even journalists not expecting it. It is suspected that Kesler-Hayden may be a part of Steven Gerrard’s plans, or maybe he’s being loaned out to a higher level. Whatever it is, it seems that the youngster is part of the future at Aston Villa, and could potentially be 2022’s breakout star.
Kesler-Hayden signed a new Aston Villa deal in July, keeping him at Villa Park until 2026. He looks like the next star in Aston Villa’s golden generation, and I’m looking forward to seeing how good he is at a higher level.