Birmingham’s Aston Villa newsWatch as Ian Foster, the manager of Plymouth, expresses his sadness at losing the young defender.
Ian Foster, the manager of Plymouth, acknowledges that Kaine Kesler-Hayden’s recall by Aston Villa caught him off guard. Before his loan was terminated earlier this month, the right-back played in 19 games and made 24 appearances for Argyle starting.
After having trouble getting into the game at Huddersfield Town the previous season before being called up by Villa, Kesler-Hayden made an impression during his second loan stint in the Championship. He chose to play for the team’s under-21 squad in Premier League 2 rather than going out on another loan deal.
Foster left Steven Gerrard’s coaching staff at Al-Ettifaq to take over at Plymouth in the first week of January. Foster had previously collaborated with Kesler-Hayden in the England youth setup. The manager of the Pilgrims asserts that Villa has assured him that Kesler-Hayden, 21, will have the opportunity to contend for a berth in Unai Emery’s starting lineup.
“We see Kaine as someone we could help develop, so it’s not like he doesn’t want to play for Aston Villa—of course he does. I believe he was simply enjoying himself so much down here, playing on a daily basis. However, that’s the risk you take, and he has returned to his parent team. We hope he can play in the Premier League and throughout Europe.”
Foster continued, saying, “I think it was a little bit of shock as well; I don’t think either party saw it coming. Kaaine’s made a lot of friends here. It was a really tight-knit social group that he was in.”
“We wish him well in anything that transpires; if he plays brilliantly at Aston Villa this season, that’s
