Aston Villa boss Remi Garde has suggested that Carlos Sanchez could be a dominant figure in his plans at the club after admitting that he is "very happy" with the midfielder.

The 29-year-old started for the Midlands outfit in their goalless draw against Manchester City, but came off the bench in last weekend's 4-0 defeat to Everton.

Garde has revealed that he kept Sanchez out of the starting XI because he was drained from the international break with Colombia.

"Carlos is a different profile to the other guys in midfield," Garde told AVTV. "He's a bit stronger and heavy-weighted compared to the others. When he came on at Everton, he did great.

"Unfortunately he didn't share the two weeks between the Man City and Everton games because he was far away with Colombia. He had a long trip back later in the week.

"I decided not to play him from the start at Goodison Park, but when he came on, I was very happy with him."

Villa remain at the bottom of the Premier League table, five points from safety.