Sources: Aston Villa plan to offload Elmohamady in summer and hand 26-yr-old key role
Aston Villa are not planning to offer Ahmed Elmohamady a contract extension at the end of the season, Football Insider can reveal.
The right-back, made his third consecutive start in Wednesday's surprise 1-0 Premier League defeat to bottom club Sheffield United.
But a Villa source has told Football Insider that manager Dean Smith is looking to let the 33-year-old go in the summer.
Smith's plan is for loaned-out Frederic Guilbert to be the back-up next season to first choice Matty Cash.
Guilbert , 26, joined French top-flight outfit Strasbourg at the end of January and has started their last four league matches.
As revealed by Football Insider ahead of the January window, Smith wanted the Frenchman to play regularly in the second half of the season and come back to Villa Park ready to challenge Cash.
The plan hasn't changed even though Elmohamady has made a strong impression during his time back in the side.
Football Insider pundit and Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor was blown away by how he kept man-of-the-moment Raphinha quiet in last Saturday's 1-0 win against Leeds United.
But Elmohamady turns 34 in September and is reaching the latter end of his career.
He has made 12 appearances for Villa this season, amounting to 698 minutes of playing action.
Since joining Villa from Hull City in 2017, the defender has played 124 times for the club and is widely regarded by supporters.