Aston Villa senior player responds to speculation about January move to Marseille
By Harry Sykes
Jordan Amavi has insisted that he has no intention of joining Marseille in the January transfer window.
The Aston Villa left-back has been linked with a return to his native France 18 months after joining the Midlands giants for £8million from Nice.
But Amavi poured cold water on the possibility of a switch next month to Marseille after reports that the French big hitters were interested in making a move for him.
"For now, I'm at Aston Villa , they rely on me," Amavi said in an interview with French publication So Foot. "I will do my best to make up. Later, we will see later. I do not think I'll go to Marseille, I'm at Aston Villa and I do not think about leaving."
Amavi, 22, has been restored as Villa's regular left-back after recovering from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that wrecked his debut season for the club.
The former France Under-21 international made an excellent early impression in the Premier League in the 2015-16 campaign before breaking down in November 2015.
Amavi has started nine of Villa's 20 Championship matches this season, and has been a substitute on five other occasions.
He has been an integral member of the team that has been transformed since the arrival of Steve Bruce as manager in mid October.
Villa have lost one one of their nine matches under the former Hull manager and have climbed to 13th in the league with a haul of 28 points from 20 matches.