Mark Hughes is understandably delighted with the signing of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.
“Gareth is widely accepted as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League,” he told the club website soon after the twenty eight year old England man had signed for the club. “He plays at a level that has an impact on the game and we are thrilled that he is joining us.”
With the transfer window only on its second day of business, City moved quickly to secure Barry’s signature and the player himself is thrilled by the move. “I’m delighted to be joining City; it didn’t take much persuasion from Mark Hughes,” exclaims Barry who went on to say that City are moving in the direction he wants to go in.
Barry will cost the Eastlands club £12m and, if he can reproduce the form which has seen him challenging for an England place at the World Cup next summer, that price tag will look more like a bargain.
The move has surprised the football world, with many expecting the midfielder to choose a Champions League club. But former Villa and England manager Graham Taylor believes Barry has chosen City over a top four club because City will give him the better chance of regular first team football. “He’ll be aware that there’s nothing more important in a World Cup year than playing first team football,” says Taylor, who is unconvinced Barry would be a regular at Liverpool, the club who failed to secure his services last season.
Barry has spent his entire career at Villa and made 443 appearances for the club since making his first team debut in 1997.