FORMER ENGLAND PLAYER DIES

LONDON: Former England and Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu has died in hospital aged 44 following a cardiac arrest.

Ehiogu, who worked as Tottenham’s under-23 coach, collapsed at the North London club’s training ground on Thursday. He died yesterday. “Words cannot express the shock and sadness that we all feel at the club,” said Tottenham’s head of coaching and development John McDermott. “Ugo’s presence will be irreplaceable.”

Ehiogu, who started at West Bromwich Albion but spent most of his career at Aston Villa, was capped four times by England.

As well as playing more than 200 times in nine years for Villa, London-born Ehiogu played 126 games for Middlesbrough. He ended his career at Sheffield United in 2009 and joined Tottenham’s coaching staff in 2014 after a spell with the England under-20 side.