According to the Express and Star, Aston Villa are reportedly interested in the possibility of bringing Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing to Villa Park this summer.
Boro’ boss Garry Monk told the winger that he was free to leave the Riverside Stadium this summer and Steve Bruce is thought to be an admirer of the winger.
Bruce apparently enquired about the winger’s availability during the January transfer window but a move from North Yorkshire to the Midlands failed to materialise.
Downing has spent the majority of his career in and around the Premier League, starting his footballing career at Middlesbrough where he grew up as a boy. The midfielder progressed through Boro’s Academy and then went on to make 234 appearances for the club in all competitions. This included 18 appearances in Europe and Downing managed to score 22 goals during the 234 games he featured in for Middlesbrough.
The winger then signed for Aston Villa in 2009 and made 79 appearances in a two-year spell at Villa Park, scoring on 11 occasions after signing for an initial fee of around £10 million.
Following two successful seasons at Villa Park, Downing then moved to Anfield and signed a deal with Liverpool that was thought to have commanded a transfer fee of around £20 million. Downing made 91 appearances for the Reds in the Premier League and scored seven goals.
West Ham the moved to sign the midfielder in 2013 for a fee of around £5 million from Liverpool and Downing made 79 appearances, scoring seven times before leaving the Hammers in 2015.
The winger then re-signed for then-Championship Middlesbrough in 2015 and featured 45 times in the league, scoring three times for the club. It was thought that Downing returned to Middlesbrough for a fee of around £7 million and he managed to feature 27 times for his boyhood club last season in all competitions.
Downing has also managed to make 35 appearances for England from 2005 right through to 2014.
The experienced midfielder could be a good signing for Aston Villa and could help to provide some much-needed experience to guide the club back to the Premier League. Downing is still only 32 and could be a useful signing for Steve Bruce’s side, should Bruce opt to bring some extra experience to Villa Park.
