Aston Villa want to resign former club captain Fabian Delph on loan from Manchester City, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The 27-year-old controversially left Villa Park in 2015 to join cash-rich Manchester City. Delph initally rejected a move to the former Premier League champions and pledged his devotion to the West Midlands club through a statement released on the club website. However, the England international completed a move to City just six days later for £8 million.
A move back to Villa Park will be unwelcome for many Aston Villa faithful after Delph left the club on bad terms. On his return to his former club in November 2015, Delph was greeted with boos around the stadium and some fans even waving inflatable snakes at the midfielder.
The Leeds academy product made an impressive 27 appearances for Manchester City last season and was also capped three times for England during the campaign. Under new boss Pep Guardiola, Delph has struggled for game-time and accumulated just four appearances under the former Barcelona boss with only one of those games being a start, in a Champions League qualifier against Steaua Bucuresti.
Guardiola has suggested that the player’s future will be decided in the future but perhaps a loan move will be on the cards for the short-term. If City do loan out the midfielder, Villa would face competition from both West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United who have both shown interest.
Despite the bitterness between the fans and the player, Delph has undoubted ability. The loan would be a huge coup at Championship level and the midfielder would be a key player in any second-tier squad.
