Re: SSN Breaking News — Gareth Barry [merged]
Birmingham Post:
Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry is set to sign for Manchester City in a shock £12million transfer.
City boss Mark Hughes placed a bid with Villa last night which was accepted by Martin O’Neill. Barry is set to sign an £80,000-a-week four-year contract and, importantly, will partner Stephen Ireland in central midfield next season in the build-up to the World Cup.
The move will be criticised in many quarters as Barry had previously appeared to covet Champions League football and last summer was on the brink of joining Liverpool. Also, the Anfield club could not meet the £18million price tag.
The 28-year-old former Brighton apprentice was offered a new contract by Villa as he had only 12 months remaining, but has chosen to move on.
So Barry’s 12-year stay at Villa Park is at an end. He made 422 starts and 440 appearances in total, scoring 52 goals, since making his debut against Sheffield Wednesday in May 1998.
Barry was also chased by both Liverpool and Tottenham, but his interest in signing on at Anfield cooled when Rafa Benitez earmarked him for the left-back or left-midfield slots.
Villa boss O’Neill has known all season that he faced an uphill challenge in keeping his most valuable asset and will hope to make swift moves into the market to replace his skipper.
Barry is currently with the England squad ahead of the World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan.
A former England Under-18 captain, Barry made his England Under-21 debut in 1998 against the Czech Republic and then broke into the full team.
He travelled to Euro 2000 with Kevin Keegan’s England squad - after an injury ruled out Jason Wilcox - but did not feature.
He made his full debut in England’s impressive 1-1 draw with then-World and European Champions France in September 2000 and was expected to develop into a quality international player. However, he fell out of favour with Villa boss John Gregory in the summer of 2001 and handed in a transfer request - and was then dumped in the reserves.
Gregory’s exit gave Barry a new lease of life, and new boss Graham Taylor gave him the chance to shine in that midfield role so many had predicted.
His form continued into the 2002/03 season and Barry was one of the shining lights in an otherwise dull season for Villa.
Impressing further under David O’Leary in 2003/04, Villa finished sixth in the League and opened talks over an extended contract at the end of the season, signing a deal to run until the summer of 2008.
In 2006/07 new manager Martin O’Neill recognised his talent and played him in the centre of midfield, where he blossomed. Captaining the club, Barry ended a four year international exile when he was called up by Steve McClaren in February 2007.
His partnership with Steven Gerrard in midfield raised many eyebrows and Barry’s stock continued to rise throughout the 2007/08 season where he enjoyed personal success, despite Villa failing to make it into the UEFA Cup.
Manchester City are building a side to break the monopoly of the ‘big four’ and will be splashing serious sums of cash to make that happen. Barry will be the first of an array of world-class players to pitch in at Eastlands this summer.
