da roleta： Aston Villa have landed Conor Hourihane from Barnsley as their fifth signing of the January transfer window, confirming the deal on their official website.
What’s the word?
da betsul： Raiding Championship rivals Barnsley for the second-time this week, Steve Bruce has added influential midfielder Conor Hourihane to his side as he seeks to land Aston Villa an immediate return back to the Premier League.
After capturing 19-year-old right-back James Bree from the Tykes earlier this weekend, Bruce has returned to capture the side’s captain in a deal worth around £3m and the pair join Birkir Bjarnason, Henri Lansbury and Manchester United loanee Sam Johnstone as new faces at Villa Park.
One of the stand-out players in the Championship this season, Hourihane’s arrival brings a wealth of optimism to the club and he was clearly delighted with his move.
What was said?
“I’m really pleased to be here. Aston Villa are a massive club and I’m looking forward to a new chapter in my career and developing further as a player under Steve Bruce.”
“I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone connected to Barnsley Football Club; from the owner, to the Head Coach, the backroom staff, and of course to the supporters who have been amazing to me throughout my time at Oakwell.”
How important will he be?
With six goals and eleven assists in his 25 appearances for Barnsley in the Championship this season, Hourihane has excelled with a Tykes side overachieving in their expectations this season; currently sat eighth, four points off the play-offs and ahead of Villa in 13th.
After a poor start to the season, Aston Villa have fought back under Steve Bruce but still have work to do, sitting nine points off the play-offs, but Bruce’s January activity has been excellent and will have raised confidence.
Potentially lining-up alongside Henri Lansbury, who had six goals and three assists in seventeen league games with Nottingham Forest, Villa now boast two of the league’s finest midfielders and the duo can fire the club back into the top-flight.
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