Heskey staying at Villa
Aston Villa caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald has said that Emile Heskey will stay at the club this season.
The striker has been out of favour at Villa since returning from the World Cup and stories have appeared in the press that Leicester City were preparing a deal to take Heskey back to his former club.
However, MacDonald has put an end to the speculation and insists that Heskey still has a future and a big role to play at the Premier League side. It's now unlikely that any possible deal for Heskey will go through.
It's no secret that Heskey does not have the best goal scoring record in the Premier League but he still has enough quality to do a job for Aston Villa. However, it could be that the only reason Heskey has not been allowed to leave is because the club have lost other important players.
Still do a job
Heskey is not a small unit and he is very difficult to defend against because of his size and power. He's also quite quick, which is not something that all defenders will expect.
Heskey gets into the right positions at the right times during a football match. This will obviously give him more chances to score a goal and the only thing that holds him back is that he's more hesitant than a lot of people would like.
He's a versatile striker who can play more than one role. He's strong enough to play up front by himself, which would allow a team to play five in midfield. He can also play with another striker that would allow him to drop off and get the ball or run in behind the defence.
MacDonald said: "I worked with Emile as a young boy at Leicester and I've got a lot of time for him. I've not had any talks with Leicester. I live quite close to Leicester so I know quite a few of the people there and there has been nothing at all."
Temporary reprieve
The club may only desire Heskey to stay because they have just let James Milner join Manchester City and they do not want another key attacking player to leave the club. They need him for squad depth even if this is the only reason for keeping him on.
This would leave Aston Villa short of options in attack if one or two members of the squad pick up an injury. The squad would then be stretched thin and with Gabriel Agbonlahor not quite ready to play, Villa would be forced in to playing an inexperienced youth.
MacDonald added: "I think Emile Heskey is a very, very good footballer. You don't play as often as he did for England if you are not a good player. In my opinion, he has been a top player for a long time. You don't play for Liverpool and win trophies if you are not a good player."
Betting advice
There is only one way to bet on Heskey if he is going to feature at some point in Aston Villa's season this year. This is backing him as each game comes because he is never going to score the volume of goals needed to be a candidate for the golden boot.
Villa have enjoyed a mixed start to the Premier League season. They were comprehensively beaten away to Newcastle when a lot of people would have backed them to pick up at least a point. Wait one or two more games before you side to bet on them winning a domestic cup competition this season.
Tags: