It has been a turbulent season to say the least for Aston Villa defender Tommy Elphick.

The 31-year-old was frozen out by former Villa boss Steve Bruce at the beginning of the campaign, and despite impressing in the first two league games of the season, the experienced defender was soon on his way out of Villa Park before deadline day.

But the former AFC Bournemouth man became an influential player whilst on loan with Hull City, putting in a string of solid performances for the Tigers and helping them climb well up the Sky Bet Championship table.

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In fact, as a result of his influential performances for the Yorkshire club, the central defender was soon recalled by Dean Smith, with the former Brentford boss desperately looking to bolster his side's defence.

But Elphick's time at Villa Park is slowly starting to stagnate again, and due to the form of Tyrone Mings, Axel Tuanzebe and Kortney Hause in defence, he faces an uncertain future at the West Midlands club with his contract expiring at the end of the season.

If you were to ask every single Villa fan whether they would keep Elphick on beyond this season, there would be a mixed bag of answers. But here, we take a look at his stats of the season so far, to see whether he justifies a contract extension at Villa Park...

Elphick has made a total of 29 appearances in the Championship this season, for both Aston Villa and Hull City. The defender has netted two times this season, one coming on the opening day for Villa, and one coming against Swansea City for Hull in December.

Defensively, the 31-year-old has recorded some decent statistics, winning an average of 4.7 aerial duels per game, as well as making an average of 4.9 clearances per game as well.

Playing out from the back is a key part of how Smith likes his team to play, and Elphick is clearly a player that fits the bill. The defender has accrued a pass success rate of 79.6%, from 41 passes per game and 3.2 long balls per game too.

He may be 31, but Elphick evidently still has a lot to prove in the Championship, and will be hoping that these stats can help him gain a contract extension at Villa Park.