Aston Villa are willing to allow Frederic Guilbert out on loan for the rest of the season - and a trio of Championship clubs are chasing his signature, according to Football Insider.

The 26-year-old hasn't managed to make a Premier League appearance for Villa this season, with summer signing Matty Cash proving why he is now the undisputed choice at right-back for Dean Smith.

Guilbert was a regular in the 2019/20 campaign, making 25 league appearances but it looks like the Frenchman has been demoted to third choice, with Ahmed Elmohamady getting more of a chance off the bench than him.

With Villa seemingly making Guilbert available for a move, it has alerted second tier clubs and Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Cardiff City are all said to be in the hunt.

The Bluebirds are definitely in the market for a new right-back after having a bid rejected for Crewe Alexandra captain Perry Ng - one the Railwaymen manager David Artell branded 'disgusting'.

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Bristol City would also be a realistic destination for Guilbert, with Fulham loanee Steven Sessegnon still out due to a torn hamstring - although he's expected back in the next few weeks - and the Frenchman would give Jack Hunt competition.

Boro meanwhile have arguably one of their standout stars of the season in Anfernee Dijksteel starting in the right-back role right now, and with Djed Spence as a deputy Neil Warnock would probably prefer to strengthen elsewhere this month.

The Verdict

Guilbert would be a superb pick-up for a Championship team, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see overseas clubs interested as well.

Cash has obviously gone to Villa Park from Nottingham Forest and made that right-back spot his own, but it doesn't mean that Guilbert is a bad player - as we saw from his performances in the previous campaign.

It's now a case of seeing who wins the race for his signature, and if Neil Harris is struggling to do a deal with Crewe for Ng, then he could do far worse than casting his eye a bit further down the M6 to strike an agreement for the unwanted 26-year-old Villain.