Aston Villa powerhouse Mile Jedinak was surprisingly linked with a summer exit – though manager Steve Bruce has made his feelings clear.
It says a lot about Mile Jedinak’s importance to Aston Villa that most fans did not believe for one second reports that the club was preparing to axe him in the summer.
The Sun claimed that, to free up funds for summer reinforcements, manager Steve Bruce was considering sacrificing one of the club’s highest earners.
Yet, Jedinak has been worth every penny of his wages in recent months. While Jonathan Kodjia may be the runaway favourite for the club’s Player of the Season award, netting his 18th goal of the season to see off QPR on Tuesday night, the Ivorian will have some competition from the follicly-blessed Australian powerhouse.
Therefore, Bruce wasted no time in laughing off reports that he could ship out his on-pitch lieutenant in the summer.
“No, definitely not! Why would I want to sell him?” Bruce quipped when asked whether he was considering letting Jedinak go, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
Why indeed? Since the 32-year-old returned from injury in February, Villa have won eight out of ten Championship fixtures with his tenacious, dogged midfield display laying the foundations for another victory, and another clean-sheet, against QPR.
In fact, Villa have only conceded one goal in their last eight games with Jedinak performing with typical consistency whether dominating the midfield or asked to drop into an unfamiliar centre-back role. Tturns out you can teach old dogs new tricks.
Furthermore, the 70-time Socceroo is arguably as important off the pitch as he is on it. Leading Crystal Palace to promotion as captain in 2013, Jedinak’s spirit and competitiveness makes him a huge dressing room presence.
All in all, Bruce would be mad to let him go.
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