Aston Villa man reveals he nearly joined Scottish club and Gerrard fires message ahead of Chelsea test

Aston Villa return to the action this weekend with a home clash against Chelsea. The Midlands outfit are in for a tough afternoon with Graham Potter unbeaten so far in charge of the Blues.

Steven Gerrard’s side are unbeaten themselves in their last four games but are disappointed with their back-to-back draws away at Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. Here is a look at the latest news coming out of the club...

Midfielder in transfer revelation

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn has revealed that he wanted to join Hearts back in 2015 when he left St Mirren. The Scotland international ended up joining Hibernian before moving down to England a few years later.

He said, as per a report by the Daily Record: “Hearts had contacted me. Robbie Neilson phoned me when I was in Santa Ponsa and asked: ‘Do you want to come to Hearts?’ I said yes, and I never heard from him again!”

Boss sends message

Gerrard wants his players to be ‘brave’ against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon. His side have struggled for goals this term and only Wolves have managed to find the goal less than them this season.

The former Liverpool and England ace has fired this message to his team, as per the Express & Star: “We are asking the players to be more courageous, to be braver. We are giving them more freedom. We don’t want to shoehorn them into one position. We want that movement to cause problems. I want the players to step forward and write headlines in a positive way.”

Ex-player catching the eye

Henri Lansbury played for Aston Villa from 2017 to 2021 and made 53 appearances in all competitions. He has now found himself a home at Luton Town and is becoming a key player at Kenilworth Road.

The Hatters’ number two Chris Cohen has been impressed with his midfielder so far in this campaign and has told Luton Today: “He’s a wonderful footballer and someone who’s had a wonderful career. The in-possession stuff, he’s one of the most wonderful technicians in the country, it’s not overstating it.

“To be able to manipulate the ball, the passing range that he’s got, he has been, for me, one of the best in possession, passing and technicians that’s been playing in the last 10, 15 years.”