Is Given a Given to be our new number one and a link to another exciting player. Short and sweet round-up!

So in what is overall a pretty quiet day for Villa links we’ll report what’s out there.

Firstly and on to the bigger story of the day with the news that Shay Given is apparently close to becoming our new number one. It’s been reported in a number of places and really got people excited when the bookies stopped taking bets on him being our next keeper. First things first we need to take the lessons learnt from the managerial fiasco and realise that in the majority of cases, the bookies know as much as we do, which is pretty much nothing. Odds are determined by the amount of money bet so all it takes is for a number of people to bet on the same thing, and the prices will come down. We saw first hand with the managerial appointment, when we had 877 different favourites for the job, that anything that comes out of the bookies should be taken with your proverbial pinch of salt.

Now anyway on to the player himself and I’m probably in the minority, but I am not overly excited by the prospect of signing him. I do think he’s a top top player and would be happy if he came, just a bit concerned about the shoulder problem and the fact that he’s not getting any younger (though at 35 he’s still pretty young compared to our previous number one). He’s one of the better shot stoppers around, and the fact he has a close relationship with Dunne has to be a good thing. Also he has a lot to prove after seeing his career fade horribly since joining Man City. There is just a nagging doubt in my mind and I think there may be better options elsewhere. Still if he does come I am sure he will do well, and a few years ago he was one of the best keepers in the country. It could be good for him to come in for a few years, and hopefully one of our two highly rated young keepers (Parish and Siegrist) will then be in a position to step up.

The fanciful links keep coming and I really think that McLeish is going to pull a big name out of the bag à la Zarate and Hleb while at Birmingham. The latest link is Sergio Canales, an extremely highly rated Real Madrid midfielder. There is talk of a one year loan and I think that would be good for all parties. There are of course negatives to a loan deal, and as we have seen with Walker if a player excels, it makes it tough to bring them back. If we get the chance to sign one of Real Madrid’s biggest talents though, surely we have to take it? We need a bigger squad and we need options, so in some situations a loan can be beneficial to all. Plus he is mint on football manager, need I say more?!

Check out this video of him in action:

Lastly today there is an extremely tenuous link to Shaun Wright-Phillips. If there is any truth in it I’m hoping we look elsewhere, a few years ago maybe. Yet another player who has had his career shot by joining Man City….when will they learn?!

UTV.

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