Aston Villa ‘really annoy’ West Brom fans by capitalising on state of West Midlands football
We’re delighted to welcome Sky Sports journalist Dan Bardell as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Aston Villa signing West Brom’s best youth talent will “really annoy” Baggies fans as the Villans capitalise on their “more stable environment” at the expense of their rivals, according to Dan Bardell.
Rico Richards recently made the switch from West Brom to Villa following the expiration of his Baggies contract, but he is just the latest in a list of former-Hawthorns talent to make the short trip to Villa Park including Jamaldeen Jimoh, Tim Iroegbunam and Finn Azaz.
This situation comes from West Brom’s own struggles following Guochuan Lai’s disastrous financial management of the club with “very worrying” reports emerging back in April [Express and Star].
Bardell claims that Aston Villa are gambling on West Brom’s best and potentially soon-to-be first-team youth talent by signing them up, damaging the Baggies even further.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “From West Midlands football, if you look at West Brom and Birmingham, Villa over the last few years have been able to just take players from these academies and just see what happens.
“It’s too early to tell if Richards will go on and make it. But if you’re a West Brom fan you’re going to be really annoyed because the way the club is being run at the moment, you’re losing academy players to Villa.
“Players that could get into the first team sooner rather than later, but are choosing to come to Villa because it’s a more stable environment.
“It’s a shame for them, but this is what happens when owners run clubs into the ground, and unfortunately for West Brom, they’re kind of going the same way Birmingham City did.“