Diego gets by with a little help from friend
NEW signing Diego Carlos admits the language barrier on his first day as a Villa player has been “difficult” but praised fellow Brazilian Douglas Luiz for helping him settle in.
The 29-year-old defender officially began pre-season at Bodymoor Heath on Monday where he joined his new team-mates for the first time since his £26 million move from Sevilla.
“The first day was very good. A surprise. I was surprised by the training ground. Everything was really nice. I was also well received by all the players and the people who work here,’’ said Carlos.
“I’m really happy and thank you to everyone for being so welcoming. I want to thank everyone for that. I’ve tried my best to communicate but it’s been difficult. I’ll get there little by little.”
As well as Douglas helping him, the centre-back was greeted by Villa’s new player care manager Phil Roscoe, while a personal translator was also on hand.
“I’ve already seen (Douglas) and had the pleasure of training with him,” said Carlos. “I was speaking with him and he was really helping me out with communication, telling me about the training at the club.
“He’s a really good friend, while the facilities, when I first walked through the door, I noticed the training ground was great, very good pitches, very good facilities.
“I’m really happy to be involved with this team. I’m very excited for pre-season now that I’ve set foot on the club grounds. From now, this season has already started. Bit by bit we’ll start adapting.
“We have pre-season in Australia to be able to enter the style of play the club expects of us. My goals and aims are the same as the club’s. I’m here to be able to add something to be able to proceed, so their goals and aims will always be the same as mine.”
Carlos will make his Villa bow at Walsall on Saturday, while uncertainty continues to surround the future of Douglas.
Sources claim AC Milan have opened talks with Villa over a move for the 24-year-old.
Douglas is into the last 12 months of his contract and the reigning Serie A champions are reportedly in pole position to clinch his signature.
The deal is said to be worth up to £26 million and the player’s representatives are confident of sealing a move to the San Siro.
Villa head coach Steven Gerrard has spoken of his desire to tie Douglas to a new deal.
However, it is believed the club are willing to lower their asking price in the hope of securing a fee for the player, who is said to prefer the chance of playing Champions League football over a fresh contract.
Meanwhile, Villa have completed the signing of 16-year-old striker Rory Wilson from Rangers.
The Scotland youth international scored 49 goals for club and country last season and will join a promising academy project at Villa, which has already overseen the development of Jacob Ramsey, Carney Chukwuemeka, Tim Iroegbunam and Cameron
Archer into the first-team squad.
Villa academy manager Mark Harrison said: “We are delighted Rory has joined us having had a number of clubs interested in signing him. He is a goalscorer with a lot of potential, having also represented Scotland at international youth level.
“He has a real good thirst and mentality to want to improve and we really look forward to seeing how he
develops with us and hopefully, in years to come, play for our first team.”
Rangers’ head of academy, Craig Mulholland, added: “Rory is a young player we have watched develop from a very young boy into a young man. He comes from a very strong family who support him exceptionally well and we wish him well on his journey.’’