Frederic Guilbert does not appear to be in Dean Smith’s plans at Aston Villa.

The 26-year-old arrived last summer from Caen in a £5m deal and went on to make 25 appearances in the Premier League as Villa narrowly avoided relegation.

This season, though, the club have loftier ambitions and are currently 10th in the table, eight points off the top four with two games in hand on fourth-placed Liverpool.

Guilbert has not played at all, having been pushed down the pecking order by the signing of Matty Cash in the summer, and he is now poised to leave the club.

Football Insider reports that he has agreed a deal to leave and join Strasbourg on loan before Monday’s deadline.

He has previously snubbed moves to both Cardiff City and Istanbul Basaksehir, per the report, but he will now be returning to Ligue 1.

Guilbert has plenty of experience in the French top-flight, playing 46 times for Bordeaux and 106 times for Caen.

Stasbourg are currently 15th in Ligue 1 and he will look to boost their hopes of avoiding a slide down into relegation trouble.

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

This makes sense.

There is no mention of a purchase option involved in the deal so this would give Guilbert the chance to prove his worth in France and potentially return to fight for a spot in Smith’s side.

He became the first-choice right-back last season and one cannot imagine that his ability has declined to the point where he cannot contribute.

Sending him to Strasbourg, where he can play, and then potentially allowing him to return could be a clever strategy.