Jordan Amavi has discussed staying at Aston Villa, with Liverpool and Southampton allegedly interested over the summer.
Newcastle’s Matt Ritchie in action with Aston Villa’s Jordan Amavi
Aston Villa left back Jordan Amavi has told France Football that he wasn’t forced to stay at Villa Park this past summer, despite alleged interest in his services.
Amavi, 23, starred in his native France, scoring four goals in 37 games during the 2014-15 season to earn a move to Aston Villa in the summer of 2015.
Whilst Amavi impressed in the early stages of last season, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in November whilst on international duty with the France Under-21’s, ending his first campaign in English football with just 12 appearances.
Ipswich Town’s Grant Ward in action against Aston Villa’s Jordan Amavi (R)
Amavi is now back from injury as Villa look to bounce straight back to the Premier League following their relegation to the Championship, but he’s only started two league games as fellow Frenchman Aly Cissokho has begun the season as Villa’s first-choice left back.
With manager Roberto Di Matteo sacked earlier this week, Amavi may play more first-team football under a new boss, and it’s easy to forget that there was plenty of transfer speculation surrounding Amavi over the summer.
Aston Villa’s Jordan Amavi
L’Equipe reported that Liverpool were keen to sign Amavi to solve their left back problems, whilst Nice-Matin claimed that Southampton – managed by Amavi’s former Nice boss Claude Puel – were also interested in ad eal.
Amavi ended up staying at Villa Park, and has now told France Football that the decision to stay with Villa wasn’t a forced one, and he wants to repay the club having missed most of last season.
Aston Villa’s Jordan Amavi in action
The left back also thanked fans for their support, and appreciates how they have sent him messages and even made a chant for him.
“Staying wasn’t a forced decision,” said Amavi. “The club counts on me, I was determined to come back from my injury. Especially since I received many messages from fans. They appreciate me, and even made a song for me.”
“I can’t sing it, you can look it up on the internet. I was a away a long time, but they’ve always been behind me, always believed in me. They never stopped sending me messages,” he added.
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