Aston Villa complete another transfer as midfield ‘target’ shoots down rumours

All the latest Aston Villa transfer news and rumours as Steven Gerrard and his men prepare for their final pre-season friendly.
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Aston Villa are now counting down the days until the new season.

Steven Gerrard’s men have completed their tour of Australia, rounding off their time Down Under with a draw against Manchester United.

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They will now take on Rennes this weekend ahead of kicking off the new campaign against Bournemouth the following week.

It has been a busy summer for Villa, who have added a number of new faces, with Gerrard well and truly putting his own stamp on his squad in his first summer in charge.

We could yet see further arrivals, too, and here we round up all the latest transfer news and rumours surrounding Villa Park.

Simpson deal

Villa continue to add to their impressive academy with new additions.

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The Lions have now completed the signing of Hearts youngster Ewan Simpson, paying an undisclosed fee for the youngster’s services.

Simpson is a highly rated young midfielder, who joins Rangers starlet Rory Wilson in making the switch to the Midlands this summer.

The midfielder is a 16-year-old who reached the Scottish FA Youth Cup final against Rangers last season.

Hearts chief Joe Savage said of the deal: “What this deal shows is that our Football Academy system is succeeding in nurturing young players and developing them into talented footballers with the potential to go on to big things.

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“Of course, we want these players to pull on a Hearts shirt and run out at Tynecastle but sometimes circumstances will dictate that they will move on.

“What reassures me, and it should fans too, is that we will always position ourselves to be properly compensated in such situations and, most importantly, that we really do have a crop of extremely talented young players coming through our Academy whose goal is to wear that famous maroon jersey.”

Neil responds

Sunderland star Dan Neil says he wasn’t interested in a move to Aston Villa despite links with the Midlands club in January.

“When I came in full time as a 16-year-old, we were in League One at the time,” Neil told the Chronicle. “And I was determined to get into the first-team because I wanted to be part of the squad that got us promoted.

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“So when there was rumours, I wasn’t really interested. Because my only goal was to do everything I can personally to help the team to get this club promoted. Now the goal is to do as well as we can in the Championship and see where that takes us.”

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