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Steven Gerrard admits he expects any move for Morgan Sanson to leave Aston Villa before Thursday’s transfer deadline to go ‘down to the wire’ after earning some last-gasp interest.

Steven Gerrard has told Birmingham Live that he hopes Morgan Sanson can agree to a late deal to leave Aston Villa. But the Villa Park boss admits there are no ‘concrete’ bids on the table for the midfielder, and his situation could go right down to Thursday night’s deadline.

Sanson has attracted some interest in a last-gasp transfer away from the Villans, and deals are ‘bubbling in the background’. Gerrard is prepared to let the Frenchman move away in the final hours of the window, having rarely shown faith in him since replacing Dean Smith.

Since Gerrard took over the Aston Villa helm last November, Sanson has only started three of his 10 Premier League appearances. The 28-year-old has also only played a total of 352 minutes to date, and has not featured in a top-flight fixture since facing Wolves on April 2.

Gerrard has not even named Sanson in any of Aston Villa’s opening four matchday plans to start the new campaign. The £16m signing from Marseille in January 2021 watched the last five fixtures of last term on the bench, too, and has only fallen further in the pecking order.

A string of hamstring and knee issues, plus illnesses, had thwarted Sanson’s chances under Smith. Now, Aston Villa may be set to let the former U21 international move on for a fresh challenge, despite having three years remaining on his £48k-a-week contract at Villa Park.

Besiktas are one team credited with an interest in Sanson possibly leaving Aston Villa, per Takvim. The Super Lig outfit also have until September 8, rather than September 1 like the Villans, to finalise a deal after opening talks over a loan-to-buy move worth €10m (£8.5m).

The chance to play regular football again will be an important factor in Sanson deciding to leave Aston Villa. Gerrard admits the midfielder is unhappy with his lack of action through his tenure so far, and hopes the club can find a solution before the markets now slam shut.

Gerrard said: “I expect Morgan’s situation to maybe go down to the wire. I think there’s a few things bubbling in the background for Morgan.

“I hope he can find somewhere to go and find regular football, I think that’s his frustration at the moment which we can certainly respect. But nothing is on the table, concrete, as of yet, but there’s certainly some interest in his personal situation.”

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