O'Neill resting stars for UEFA clash
A string of star names were left at home as Martin O'Neill and his Villa team headed off to Hamburg this morning.
A string of star names were left at home as Martin O'Neill and his Villa team headed off to Hamburg this morning.
Gabby Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry, Ashley Young, Martin Laursen and James Milner have all been rested for tomorrow night's UEFA Cup clash in Germany and did not travel, while Isaiah Osbourne has been ruled out with illness.
Instead, O'Neill will give a chance to his young stars for the game, which will decide where Villa finish in Group F, after Nathan Delfouneso, Barry Bannan, Shane Lowry, Zoltan Stieber, Ciaran Clark, Chris Herd were all included in the 20-man party.
"I've decided to leave the five of them at home," revealed O'Neill. "James has been suffering with the flu recently anyway and now Isaiah is struggling. I have brought some of the youngsters along, it will be good experience."
Meanwhile, Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos is reported to be preparing a £27m bid for Villa winger Young.
Ramos is said to have been impressed by England international Young, who cost Villa £8m from Watford in January, 2007, during his failed spell in the Premier League with Tottenham.
A Madrid source said: "We know that it would cost a lot of money to get Ashley Young, but he is the type of quality we are after because he is a good young player and a quality international. He would give us a bit of width."
Young, who only last month signed new four-year deal, has been in dazzling form for Villa of late, scoring three times in the last two games as well as making a substitute appearance in England's last international, the 2-1 win over Germany in Berlin.
His form has earned high praise from boss O'Neill, who described him as "world class" after last Sunday's winner at the death at Everton, before claiming the 23-year-old belongs in the same bracket as Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, the top two in this year's Ballon d'Or.
The Spanish giants would be sure to face resistance from O'Neill, who proved in the summer-long Gareth Barry saga he will fight to hold on to his most prized assets.
