Martin Laursen Retirement Has Martin O'Neill on the Lookout

Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill will be forced to open his chequebook this summer after the retirement of central defender Martin Laursen.

Laursen, 31, will be a massive miss for Villa who have alarmingly slipped away in the Premier League this season.

When Danish lionheart Laursen was lodged at the heart of the Villa back four, O’Neill’s men were flying high in fourth place, but after his injury in December Villa found cleansheets hard to come by.

It now looks like a safe football bet that Villa are destined for a sixth or fifth-placed finish after a wretched recent spell of just one win in 11 in the Premier League.

Curtis Davies, Zat Knight, and Carlos Cuellar will be the men vying for the two centre-back slots next term, but O’Neill is certain to try and bolster his defence and a leader like Laursen will be hard to come by.

Laursen, who announced his retirement on Friday, signed for Villa from AC Milan for £3million in May 2004—after impressing in the European Championships of that same year.

In three seasons after his transfer from Milan he endured a frustrating time with injury, but in 2007-08 he emerged from his injury hell and proved to be a diamond at the back.

This season started brightly after being named captain before the start of the campaign and scoring the terrific opening goal against Ajax in the UEFA Cup.

However he suffered injury once again during the defeat of West Ham at Upton Park last December and he only returned to action against West Brom in January but he suffered a reaction after the derby clash and that proved to be his farewell appearance.

He made 91 appearances and scored 11 goals for the claret and blue troops.