There were not very many bright or happy moments for Aston Villa last season as they were emphatically relegated from the Premier League as one of the division’s worst ever sides.
However, one player who did show glimpse of potential and flashes of what may have been was Carles Gil, signed from Valencia the previous January. Affectionately known as ‘Charlie Hill’ to the Holte End faithful, Gil has left Villa Park to sign for Deportivo La Coruña on a one year loan deal.
The Spanish attacking midfielder has three years left on his contract but had always sought a return to his native Spain once Villa were condemned to relegation prematurely last year. As always with recently relegated Premier League sides, Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo has been forced to offload players before buying, and BBC Sport confirmed that Gil is one of those to move on.
The former Spain under-21 international was signed by Tim Sherwood and helped guide Aston Villa to safety and the FA Cup final that same year, but both Gil and Sherwood were powerless to prevent Villa’s desperate slide towards the Championship and the latter was sacked in October 2015.
Gil made 28 appearances for the Villans and scored two goals, both brilliant in their own right, and was unlikely to remain a Championship player for the forthcoming season.
Gil had spent his entire senior career at Valencia, including a loan spell at Elche, before leaving for Villa, and his swift return to Spain may yet prove to be permanent if he can flourish for one of Spain’s sleeping giants, who finished 15th last term.
