Martin O'Neill Wants James Milner to Stay at Aston Villa
Aston Villa manager, Martin O'Neill, says he wants James Milner to stay on at Aston Villa despite rumours linking the player with a move to Manchester City.
Milner's profile has increased as a professional football player after he made numerous appearances during England's World Cup campaign. However, O'Neill says the player will get more of a chance to play and improve if he stays put.
This is a very fair point because Manchester City has one of the biggest squads in the Premier League. It also has some very high profile names, which will make it much harder for Milner to stay in the team once he has been handed a starting role.
It's very important that Miner stays where he is because he is integral to the way that Aston Villa plays. He has many qualities that make him a key figure of the team and the club will need him to display these on a weekly basis.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa have been a club trying to move forward over the last few years but for some reason they have never been able to make the extra push when it's needed.
There is no doubt at all that Milner is in the best form of his life and he seems to have settled at a club after a string of moves that prevented him from settling. It would be insensible for the player to leave Aston Villa unless he was made a guarantee of first team football.
The reason that Milner is so important to the team is because a lot of the play goes through him. He is very versatile and can play on either wing or in the middle. Aston Villa do not have another player like this and it would be a huge blow to the club if they lost him.
O'Neill said: "Eventually if players do want to leave the football club, or any football club for that matter, then it becomes more difficult than ever before. But what I will say is we have a better chance of performing in the manner in which we did last season if we could keep the best players and James Milner comes into that equation."
If He Goes
If he goes to another club then it will mean that the whole shape of the Aston Villa team becomes dented. The side would lose a great deal of organisation that they have worked hard to put together over a long period of time.
If Milner does not think about his future properly then there is a good chance it could well be the end of his international career. If he goes to a club where he is not on the field all the time then the England manager is not going to pick him.
Advice
Avoid backing Aston Villa to get into the top four to six places if Milner loses the club. He will score a lot of goals during the course of the season that could turn out to be vital.
If you want to back him individually then it will be better to take each game as it comes. Aston Villa have one or two prolific attacking players who are always going to score more goals than an attacking midfield player and will be better candidates for individual bets.
Wave goodbye to backing him individually if he does move on because there is no guarantee he will be in the team every single week if he signs for Manchester City. This will stop you wasting money as Milner wastes his career.
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