Villa forced to move EPL home clash with united to Aug 14
LONDON: Aston Villa have been forced to move their home English Premier League clash with Manchester United to a Friday night – because of an English Defence League rally.
The Villa Park tie was originally set for Aug 15 (Saturday). But with an EDL march in Birmingham that day, it will now take place the night before.
The game will be on Sky Sports as part of the first batch of live TV matches, it was announced on Friday.
But the Friday night kick-off will still cause a major headache for police fearing a repeat of the crowd trouble when United visited Villa for a Sunday night FA Cup tie in 2002.
The Red Devils’ win was marred by pitch invasions from drunken supporters who had spent hours in the pubs before the game.
United will also be on TV the week before, on BT Sport, when their opener against Tottenham Hotspur raises the curtain on the new season.
Chelsea begin their title defence at home to Swansea later that day on Sky.
Arsenal vs West Ham and Stoke vs Liverpool make up the other live TV games on the opening weekend, whileWest Brom against Manchester City is the first Monday night match.
Meanwhile, Villa manager Sherwood has tabled a stunning £9mil (RM53mil) bid for Nice leftback Jordan Amavi.
Sherwood made the offer on Friday and hopes for permission to fly in the young defender this weekend.
Amavi, a France Under-21, was hotly tipped to move this summer, with many leading clubs interested, but Villa have jumped to the front of the queue after putting cash on the table.
Sherwood insists his side need cover at leftback and Amavi, 21, is both a quick defender and comfortable going forward.
Nice are prepared to sell and insiders revealed that the fee has been “virtually agreed”.
Villa have also just completed a £9mil deal for Lille’s midfield dynamo Idrissa Gueye.
It is a coup for Villa with Gueye snubbing French giants Marseille because he fancies playing in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old passed a medical and finalised terms on a four-year contract on Friday – subject to international clearance.
And the Senegalese star becomes Villa’s biggest deal for four-and-ahalf years since Darren Bent signed from Sunderland in an £18mil (RM106mil) deal which rose to £24mil (RM141mil).
Gueye said: “Everyone knows England has a league that attracts me, now this is a dream move.”
Southampton, West Ham and Crystal Palace all bid for Gueye, who played over 130 games for Ligue 1’s Lille.
But Villa insist Gueye is not a replacement for England midfielder Fabian Delph, 25, who has an £8mil (RM 47mil) release clause in his deal and is on Manchester City’s radar.
Sources close to the club say Villa expect Delph and Spurs and Liverpool target Christian Benteke to be on board when Villa fly to Albufeira for pre-season training next week.
And Sherwood is still optimistic about landing Dutch midfielder Tjaronn Chery, 27, as Groningen prepare to accept a £3.5mil (RM21mil) offer. — The Sun, London