Aston Villa: Slight hitch in James Milner move to Manchester City
Aug 12 2010 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
JAMES Milner’s drawn out move to Manchester City will not go through until this afternoon at the earliest – after a planned overnight trip up the M6 was cancelled at the eleventh hour.
At the time of the Birmingham Mail going to press last night, Milner was set to be driven up to Lancashire immediately after England duty, ahead of a medical with the Eastlands club this morning.
But Milner was contacted by Villa late last night with a summons to report to training at Bodymoor Heath as usual today because the cash-plus-Stephen Ireland deal had hit a slight snag.
It is believed that the latest hold up is to do with the Ireland part of the exchange, but it could yet be resolved in time for the transfer to finally go through this afternoon or this evening.
Chairman Randy Lerner admitted yesterday that completing a move that has dragged on since Villa rejected City’s opening £20 million bid at the end of May was a top priority.
If the lingering issues over Ireland satisfactorily extricating himself from his City contract are resolved then the deal which also involves £18 million cash heading Villa’s way will be completed in time for both players to turn out for their new clubs on Saturday.
Villa were relieved that Milner, who has struggled with a minor back injury during pre-season, came through unscathed last night after playing 23 minutes in England’s 2-1 friendly win over Hungary at Wembley.
With Villa close to resolving the summer long Milner saga, their attentions will turn to recruiting a managerial successor to Martin O’Neill.
