Aston Villa name English Premier League squad
Aston Villa today revealed their squad for the English Premier League campaign.
Despite being able to name 25 players in the squad under the new EPL rules, they have opted to name just 22 because footballers under the age of 21 do not have to be included. As the club have several players either in the first team or on the fringes of it, they have decided not to use their full complement of 25.
As far as those named in the squad are concerned, there were no surprises among the men caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald has selected. New signing Stephen Ireland is included, as are several prlayers with whom MacDonald worked with closely when he was manager of the reserve team — Moustapha Salifou, Isaiah Osbourne, Eric Lichaj and Jonathan Hogg.
MacDonald has selected just two goalkeepers in the squad as well as three strikers, when an EPL side would normally have at least four. However, the club appear to be content with the options they have at their disposal among the younger players. If they wish to make any changes to the named squad, they will have to wait until the transfer window opens for business in January.
The only uncertainty surrounding the squad at the moment is the identity of the permanent manager. MacDonald was placed in temporary charge of the first team after Martin O’Neill’s sudden resignation just five days before the 2010-11 EPL season kicked off.
United States national team head coach Bob Bradley had been widely considered as the favourite to take the role, but killed off that speculation when he penned a four-year extension to his contract with US Soccer this week. MacDonald has revealed his interest in the job while former England and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and ex-Villa captain and former Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate have also been heavily linked with the role.
Full squad
Villa’s 22-man squad for the EPL campaign is as follows:
Goalkeepers — Brad Friedel and Brad Guzan.
Defenders — James Collins, Carlos Cuellar, Curtis Davies, Habib Beye, Richard Dunne, Eric Lichaj, Stephen Warnock and Luke Young.
Midfielders — Stewart Downing, Jonathan Hogg, Stephen Ireland, Isaiah Osbourne, Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker, Moustapha Salifou, Steve Sidwell and Ashley Young.
Strikers — Gabriel Agbonlahor, John Carew and Emile Heskey.
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