James Milner joins Manchester City with Stephen Ireland moving to Aston Villa
One of this summer’s longest-running transfer sagas has come to a close after James Milner signed for Manchester City from their English Premier League rivals Aston Villa, with Stephen Ireland moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal.
The transfer is said to be worth around £26m in total, with City paying Villa £16m plus giving them Ireland in a makeweight for Milner, the Professional Footballers' Association young player of the year. He will not be able to play in his new club’s UEFA Europa League play-off clash with Timisoara tomorrow, but will be in the squad for City’s home game against Liverpool in the league on Monday.
Milner arrived in Manchester yesterday to undergo a medical exam and signed a long-term contract with his new club which will reportedly see him double his earnings at Villa.
City manager Roberto Mancini told of his delight at finally getting his man after talks lasting for most of the summer. He told his club’s official website that: "I am very happy to have James with us. Everybody knows we have admired him for some time. He is an excellent midfielder, who can play in a number of positions. This is important for the team, and I am looking forward to seeing him play for us. We have a very strong squad, and this signing is a very important one for us.”
Milner joins Yaya Toure, David Silva, Jerome Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov and Mario Balotelli as City’s new summer recruits. The 24-year-old told City’s website that: “I'm ambitious and I want to win trophies here. I believe this is a great place to do that and I believe we will do it. Hopefully, sooner rather than later."
Meanwhile, Ireland has signed a four-year contract with Villa. He came through the ranks at City and despite being the club’s player of the year for the 2008-09 season, did not feature frequently last term.
The 23-year-old told his new club’s website that: "I am really excited. I have only been here a day but I know what it is about already. It is a family club, I've seen a lot of happy faces here and a lot of friendly faces, so I am really excited for the future here. I am looking forward to building up a relationship with the fans and my new team-mates. It is exciting for me to have a new challenge, move here and get settled."
Villa caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald said he was over the moon to have such a talented player join his squad. "This is a great signing for the football club. Stephen is an outstanding young talent who will complement the talented players we already have here and we're looking forward very much to working with him."
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