Aston Villa Must Fight to Hold on to Contract Rebel Fabian Delph
Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph was linked with a move away from Villa Park on Thursday, and this recent contract speculation should prompt manager Paul Lambert to fight for the future of one of the club’s key players.
According to John Percy of The Telegraph, Delph, whose contract expires in the summer of 2015, could be looking to leave the Midlands club at the end of the season.
The publication claims that “Delph has told Aston Villa he has no plans to sign a new contract and is set to leave the club in the summer.”
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Furthermore, it is suggested that top-level Premier League sides would be interested in the midfielder, with Percy writing about “a move which is likely to spark interest from Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton, plus Tottenham Hotspur.”
The club have reportedly offered Delph “an incentivised four-year deal worth around £50,000 a week,” in an attempt to secure the services of a midfielder who has become one of Lambert’s most important players.
Unfortunately, the rise of Delph’s stock is seemingly directly proportional to the fall of Villa under Lambert, with the club regularly struggling to survive in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Delph earned his first England call-up earlier in 2014.
Percy claims that “elevation to the England squad [has convinced Delph] that he will have to take the difficult decision of leaving Villa Park to advance his career.”
Delph may have lofty ambitions, but so should Villa, and this should start with offering the former Leeds United man an increased deal and a central role in the club’s future.
The Rise of Fabian Delph
A BBC Sport-reported £8 million signing from Leeds in the summer of 2009, the then-19-year-old Delph was one of the country’s most promising young talents, with a move to Villa feted as “mind blowing” by the midfielder, who spoke to Aston Villa TV.
Struggling with injuries throughout his development, however, Delph slowly honed his skills both behind the scenes at Villa and during a one-month loan back to Leeds in 2012.
Returning to the fold under Lambert later that year, Delph has looked a phenomenal talent ever since.
According to WhoScored.com, the 24-year-old has now made 91 Premier League appearances for the Villans, with his most successful season to date coming in 2013/14.
During that season, Delph made 33 starts for the club, scoring three goals and making two assists.
The combative midfielder serves as the defensive bite within Lambert’s midfield, and a supreme energy allows Delph to rove from box to box, breaking up play and continuing attacks.
Delph’s rise to becoming a key player at Villa earned the midfielder an England call-up in September, with the Three Lions’ manager, Roy Hodgson, particularly pleased with the player’s performance in a 2-0 away victory over Switzerland.
Injury has curtailed any further inclusion so far for Delph, but there is great cause to expect the midfielder will return to the England fold in the future under Hodgson.
The manager’s favoured diamond formation suits Delph’s style of play perfectly.
While Delph's rise symbolises some form of progression at Villa Park, not much else has under Lambert in recent months.
Summer Spending
It took a while to convince the critics, but Lambert’s initial policy of focusing on youth players following his arrival as Villa manager in 2012 was lauded as a masterstroke.
Jason Burt, writing for The Telegraph, oversaw how, six months on from Lambert’s arrival, “the average age of the Villa team [fell] from 28 years and four months to 23 years and four months,” which stood as “a bold gamble,” which had paid off.
Furthermore, the manager himself defended his “project,” telling reporters at the time (h/t BBC Sport):
"I think they are all growing into it, the young lads. If you look at the average age, it is a very young side but that is great for the future. If we keep growing together, we'll have a right strong side. I couldn't ask for any more, not just the effort but the way they have played.
"
Lambert added signings such as Ashley Westwood, Matt Lowton and Christian Benteke to a youthful core that included a blossoming Delph.
Why then, the manager reneged on such a strategy in this summer’s transfer window remains a bizarre lapse.
Swiss centre-back Philippe Senderos, former Liverpool loanee Aly Cissokho and English veterans Joe Cole and Keiran Richardson all joined the club, while previous exiles Darren Bent and Alan Hutton returned to the fold.
Young talents such as Marc Albrighton, Jordan Bowery, Nicklas Helenius, Yacouba Sylla and Gary Gardner all left the club, either on permanent deals or on loan.
Presumably, this was a means to add experienced steel to a sometimes naive side. However, Lambert’s squad now resembles a mismatch of styles and outlooks, far from the manager’s previous notion of “growing together.”
There is still a youthful core, including Delph, Benteke and Andi Weimann, but this deviating from Lambert’s “project” has seemingly left his side in disarray.
The Future for Aston Villa
Despite starting of the season promisingly, with 10 points from their first four Premier League encounters—including victory away to Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool—Villa’s form has tailed off dramatically thus far.
After 10 league games, Lambert’s side stand in 16th place, hanging precariously above the relegation zone with just two points separating Villa and 18th-placed Leicester City.
Furthermore, Weimann’s strike against Spurs in the recent 2-1 loss was the first goal Villa had scored in six games—a run which lasted from that mid-September win over the Reds.
With star striker Benteke currently struggling for form and now facing a three-game suspension following a red card against Spurs, and substitute options such as Cole and Bent offering little in terms of support, there is much to bemoan for loyal Villa fans.
"Aston Villa look in trouble. Weak on the pitch and poor planning off it. Vlaar and Delph contracts in final year and both likely to go?
— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) November 7, 2014"
At this point Villa’s future looks bleak, and the news that Delph is looking to move on only underlines this—losing the midfielder could consign Villa Park as a sinking ship.
Club captain Ron Vlaar also sees his contract expire in the summer and, according to Percy, “has not [yet] indicated whether he sees his future elsewhere.” Any move for the Dutchman would be another blow for the Villans.
Now, Paul Lambert and Randy Lerner must make a defiant act and convince Fabian Delph to sign a new deal which could stand as a significant turning point in the club’s future.
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