Bolasie’s departure should have led to increased Aston Villa opportunities for O’Hare

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Yannick Bolasie did not produce consistently for Aston Villa during his loan spell from Everton, but he did add unpredictability and creativity to Dean Smith’s side.

But the tricky winger reportedly elected to cut short his Villa Park spell in order to pursue a move to another Premier League club and that has left Smith with a void to fill.

Given Villa’s financial constraints and the quality of the young talent they have at their disposal, the likes of Callum O’Hare might have hoped that Bolasie’s departure would have opened the door for greater first-team opportunities.

Instead, O’Hare has been farmed out on loan to League Two outfit Carlisle United and while he should get games there, Villa have missed the opportunity to replace Bolasie’s threat from wide with one of their own.

Steve Bruce’s preference for older players stalled O’Hare’s development at Villa Park but the wideman looked like a bright spark on the rare occasions he was handed a start.

He would also have been a great fit for Smith’s more adventurous style of play, where widemen are offered freedom to bomb forward without fear of making mistakes.

But Villa will now likely need to dip into the transfer market to replace Bolasie, which feels like something of an opportunity missed for both the club and O’Hare.