After spending four successful years at Marseille, scoring 25 goals and supplying 22 assists from midfield, Aston Villa snapped him up for £15m in January 2022.
Known for his venomous strike from range and an eye for a pass, Villa thought they were getting a midfield metronome, who could deliver magic from the edge of the box.
Unfortunately, three years and 23 appearances later, Sanson hasn’t come close to hitting the heights that his Ligue 1 days promised.
While a lot of that boils down to factors out of his control – like managerial changes and injuries – the 29-year-old failed to make an impression on Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard and Unai Emery at Villa.
In search of regular first-team football, Sanson spent the second of last season on loan at Strasbourg before joining OGC Nice this term.
Sanson’s loan move to Nice is almost certainly going to be made permanent at the end of the season, according to L’Equipe.
Not only has he quickly established himself in Francesco Fariolo’s side, but he has also expressed his desire to remain at the club beyond this campaign.
In an interview about whether he’d want to stay, he said: “Yes, of course [I want to stay]. Florent Ghisolfi has said the same thing that he wants me involved in the project for the long term.”
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