£50m player says he never actually wanted to join Aston Villa
Aston Villa are a very desireable club to play for at the moment.
The Villans are in the Champions League and they have one of the best managers in the world in their dugout.
However, this hasn’t always been the case at Villa Park.
Cast your mind back 15 or so years and Villa’s decline was just beginning under the ownership of Randy Lerner.
Kyle Walker joined Aston Villa on loan around that time, and speaking on his podcast, the defender has admitted that he never actually wanted to make this move, but, ultimately, he says it proved to be one of the best decisions of his career.
READ MORE: Aston Villa still keeping tabs on ‘excellent’ £22m player who could leave in 2025
Kyle Walker never wanted to join Aston Villa
Walker spoke about his move to Villa Park on loan.
“Yeah. I didn’t actually want to go to Aston Villa. But my agent said I had to go and play Premier League football. It was probably the best move I ever made in my life. The manager, sadly he has passed away now, and he said everytime I can play you, I will play you. I settled really quickly. Villa was the first time I felt like a professional footballer,” Walker said.
Kyle Walker benefitted from the loan system
Kyle Walker may be a £50m superstar these days, but, once upon a time, he was a raw talent who wasn’t ready to get a game for Spurs.
Tottenham knew that Walker needed experience, and these loans were huge for the eventual England international.
Walker speaks highly of Gerard Houllier, and it shouldn’t be underestimated just how important this loan spell at Villa was for Walker’s development and his career.
Walker might not be the player he is today if he didn’t go on loan to Aston Villa all those years ago.
Who knows? With Walker seemingly falling down the pecking order at City and Villa struggling with injuries at right-back, perhaps a return could be possible one day.
