Aston Villa are set for a very busy summer no matter what happens to Dean Smith's side in the race for promotion via the play-offs.

A run of eight successive wins have made Villa the team with all the momentum at the right stage of the campaign.

Yet, Smith will be relishing the chance to put his own mark on the squad when the window opens and there are a lot of players that he will look to move on.

One who has an uncertain future is centre-back Tommy Elphick.

He was out of favour completely under Steve Bruce, so much so that he sent him on loan to Hull despite a lack of options in defence.

But, Smith recalled him and played the ex-Bournemouth man regularly until injury hit.

However, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause have formed a strong partnership since and with the 31-year-old's contract up in the summer, he could be off.

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Here we look at THREE potential paths for Elphick...

Hope for Villa deal

Realistically, this isn't going to happen if Villa win promotion but if they remain in the Championship he may think he warrants a new deal.

The experienced defender has proven himself to be a good player at this level over the years and the chance to be a part of Villa moving forward under Smith will surely appeal.

Return to Hull

Alternatively, one club who will snap Elphick up without thinking twice are Hull.

He enjoyed a successful half-season with the Tigers in the current campaign and Nigel Adkins was gutted to lose the player.

The chance to go to a club where he knows he will play and where he will be key is another exciting prospect for Elphick.

Find another Championship club

In truth, many clubs in the second-tier would consider a move for the defender, so he won't be short of options if he does become a free agent.

As mentioned, he is experienced and has won promotion from this league before as captain.