Steven Gerrard vows to get Morgan Sanson up to speed at Aston Villa

Sanson has endured a frustrating time in B6 thus far.

Since joining from Marseille in January, the Frenchman has only made 11 appearances.

Gerrard, though, is ‘aware of his quality and his talent’, and they are getting him ready to make an impact in the Premier League as soon as possible.

On if his arrival gives Sanson a fresh start, Gerrard said: “It’s a clean slate for the whole group.

“Every player will be treated the same and given that opportunity to impress and stake a claim, for sure.

“Morgan’s probably slightly more disadvantaged than the rest as he hasn’t played much.

“We haven’t had chance to see him much.

“We competed against Morgan in a pre-season friendly up at Rangers versus Marseille, so we were certainly aware of his quality and his talent.

“I sat down with Morgan face-to-face and said ‘let’s get you up to speed from a physical and mental point of view, to have you ready in the best way we can’. Then, there’ll be opportunities for him.

“We certainly know of his quality and know he can help us.

“It’s very much a clean slate for him – but for everyone else as well.”

Sanson was expected to travel with Villa for today’s clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, while fellow midfielder Douglas Luiz was also due to be involved after a return from a hamstring injury.

Trezeguet, meanwhile, is set to be given minutes with the under-23s over the next few weeks before fully returning to the first-team fold – having been out since April.

Sanson surprised fans by being included on the bench for the win over Brighton last weekend.

Gerrard added on that decision: “That was more for him. He’d had a tough time, a frustrating time, so I wanted to put him in to make him feel good and part of it.

“Morgan had put in some strong performances in training and has backed that up this week.

“He’s starting to look fitter and sharper as the days go by, but he needs more work.

“He needs more training sessions before he’s fully ready.”