Spurs link makes Aston Villa’s midfielder chase more plausible
Published:
After a prior working relationship saw Aston Villa miss out on their chief creative-midfield target this summer, Tim Sherwood is hoping a similar bond will help him end the club’s hunt for a pass master.
Following Tom Cleverley’s decision to join Everton and link back up with Roberto Martinez, for whom he played during a loan spell at Wigan, the Villans boss has turned his attentions to a former Tottenham man.
Sherwood worked with Tom Huddlestone when he was appointed assistant first-team coach under Harry Redknapp in 2008 and would have plenty more fleeting dealings with the midfielder once he moved into his role as technical director in 2012.
Huddlestone switched the sparse sight of the Spurs first team for a regular spot in the centre of Hull’s park the following year, but looks to be on his way out of the KC Stadium now that the Tigers have fallen through the Premier League’s trap door.
Although Steve Bruce’s side are rated as 8/1 second favourites to make a swift return to the top flight as Championship victors, Aston Villa believe the prospect of an instantaneous stay will be too much of a lure for the 28-year-old.
Quotes in the Sun, attributed to a source close to Sherwood, claim that: ” Tim rates him as one of the best creative midfielders in the country.”
With Cleverley now out of the picture, Sherwood is going to need Huddlestone’s creative talents in a midfield that improved markedly under the former Premier League winner’s tutelage but has lost one of its key cogs.
New recruits are a must if the new boss is to deliver on his ambitions of dragging Villa up the table and away from a perennial relegation fight.
Indeed, the Midlands outfit only rate as the 4/1 joint-fourth favourites for the drop next season, with just Scott Sinclair signing to turn his loan move from Man City permanent.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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