Jan 23 2009
Emile Heskey Signs for Aston Villa
Aston Villa has signed Wigan striker Emile Heskey for a fee of £3.5 million. 31 year-old Heskey passed a medical on Thursday, and has now signed a three and a half year deal to play for Villa.
Emile Heskey was sold for a knockdown price due to the matter of his contract expiring at the end of the season, and fans will surely see this £3.5 million move as a shrewd bit of business on the behalf of Martin O’Neill.
Villa has been after an additional striker for some time, there had been limited cover for when John Carew is unavailable and this was therefore quite a problem for the club. Heskey’s arrival at Villa Park certainly strengthens up the squad though, and the England striker will surely fit in well at the club alongside his fellow internationals Curtis Davies, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young, and Gabriel Agbonlahor. There are a lot of high quality English players at Aston Villa right now, and Heskey now becomes the latest to join the force.
Heskey had been at Wigan since 2006, and prior to this played for Aston Villa’s bitter Birmingham rivals Birmingham City. Emile Heskey will be hoping for a successful return to Birmingham, and will be looking to make as big an impact as possible during his time with Aston Villa.
Known as a very unselfish striker; Emile Heskey provides a lot of goals for his team mates, and should be a huge help in Aston Villa’s plan to finish in the top four of the English Premier League this season. Currently sitting fourth and three points in front of Arsenal; Aston Villa’s season is currently going very well, and the signing of Emile Heskey improves upon what was already an excellent squad.
Emile Heskey is a strong, hard working Premier League player, and should fit in well at Aston Villa. The general consensus amongst the club’s supporters right now seems to be that Emile Heskey is a good signing, and that although he’s not getting any younger; he’s certainly an excellent signing for the short term, and will definitely help improve upon what Aston Villa already has.
So Emile Heskey has signed for Aston Villa, and Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega looks as though he’ll be his replacement at Wigan. Currently playing for Necaxa in Mexico, it’s expected that Wigan will pay somewhere in the region of £4.5 million for Hugo Rodallega, and as he’s already been granted a work permit to play in the country the transfer deal is likely to be finalised very soon.
