Aug 05

Nicky Shorey set to end Aston Villa stay with switch to West Brom

• 29-year-old is understood to be earning £1.6m a year at Villa
• Forest sign Ryan Betrand from Chelsea on six-month loan

Nicky Shorey looks set to sign for West Bromwich Albion in a cut-price deal as the left-back brings to an end an unhappy spell at Aston Villa. Shorey joined Villa from Reading for £3.5m two years ago but struggled to hold down a regular place and was told he could leave the club this summer.

The 29-year-old is understood to have been earning £1.6m a year at Villa yet he made only three Premier League starts last season. Shorey spent three months on loan at Nottingham Forest between November and January and the Championship club were keen to re-sign him on a permanent basis.

Financing the deal was always going to be a problem for Forest, however, and with Albion able to offer Premier League football Shorey now appears to be heading to the Hawthorns. Albion’s interest in Shorey is due in part to the prospect of losing Joe Mattock for a period after the full-back last week pleaded guilty to affray.

Forest, meanwhile, have filled the left-back vacancy at the City Ground by signing Ryan Bertrand from Chelsea on a six-month loan. Bertrand has yet to play for Chelsea but he has made more than 100 appearances during loan spells, including spending last season with Reading. He is a member of Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21 squad.

West BromAston VillaNottingham ForestTransfer windowStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk

No Comments | Tags: , , , , ,
May 25

Tottenham consider offer for the Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies

• Spurs look to bolster injury-plagued defence
• Aston Villa could use funds to invest in midfielder

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing the Aston Villa defender Curtis Davies in a deal that could mean Jermaine Jenas moving in the opposite direction. Spurs were monitoring Davies before he moved to Villa Park three years ago and the former West Bromwich Albion and Luton Town player is interesting them again after Martin O’Neill indicated he was willing to listen to offers for the 25-year-old.

With three other senior central defenders – Richard Dunne, James Collins and Carlos Cuéllar – the Villa manager is willing to sacrifice Davies, who was a £9m signing from Albion but could leave for little more than half that sum, to raise funds to strengthen his squad. O’Neill has targeted central midfield, which will be severely weakened if he loses James Milner to Manchester City, and up front as the two areas he would most like to improve.

Jenas could therefore be attractive to O’Neill, who has also looked at West Ham United’s Scott Parker. Jenas endured a frustrating season at White Hart Lane, making only nine Premier League starts and dropping behind Tom Huddlestone in the pecking order for club as well as country, although it remains to be seen whether he would be willing to leave Spurs at a time when the club has finally broken into the Premier League’s top four.

Tottenham see Davies as providing cover in defence. Although Redknapp has five centre-halves, Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate missed large chunks of last season through injury. In the case of Woodgate there are genuine concerns about whether he will play again. Redknapp admitted this month that the 30-year-old, who has not made an appearance for Spurs since November, was “at a very low point in his life” as he battled to overcome persistent groin injuries.

Davies, whose availability has also been at West Ham, has been in a couple of Fabio Capello’s England squads but he has yet to win a senior cap. He scored in Villa’s 3-1 win at Liverpool last August, but then had a spell on the sidelines following shoulder surgery and was unable to dislodge Dunne or Collins when he returned to fitness.

Aston VillaTottenham HotspurTransfer windowStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk

No Comments | Tags: , , , , ,
Jan 22

Celtic try to tempt Aston Villa’s Curtis Davies to Scotland

• Davies keen to find out if he has a long-term future at Villa
• Defender has been sidelined since August with shoulder injury

Celtic have approached Aston Villa over taking Curtis Davies on loan for the rest of the season. The defender is believed to be keen on the move as he nears a return to full training following a shoulder injury which has sidelined him since August.

Davies is eager to get a sense from Villa’s manager, Martin O’Neill, as to whether he has a long-term future at the club. Under the terms of the contract he signed when he joined from West Bromwich Albion, Villa will be obliged to renegotiate his deal if he makes two more starts for them.

With Richard Dunne and James Collins established as Villa’s first-choice centre-backs and Carlos Cuéllar also able to play in that position, Davies may be made available for sale this summer.

Celtic have seen their ranks diminished by the departure of Barry Robson, Willo Flood and Chris Killen to Middlesbrough and of Gary Caldwell to Wigan Athletic. The Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos has also been linked with a move to Celtic Park.

CelticAston VillaTransfer windowStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , ,