Glenn Whelan has shone in the Scottish Premiership with Hearts, although Dean Smith’s Premier League outfit obviously felt he had nothing left to offer.
Aston Villa might have felt Glenn Whelan was finished at the top level when they decided to release the veteran midfielder almost immediately after beating Derby County at Wembley to seal their place back in the Premier League.
Despite playing 38 games in all competitions last season under Steve Bruce and Dean Smith, a Republic of Ireland international who never really won over the Villa Park faithful was discarded when his contract expired on July 1.
But unlike Mile Jedinak and Alan Hutton, who are still without a club almost three months later, Whelan has shown that there is life in the old dog yet at the age of 35.
The former Stoke City enforcer is now one of the first names on the team sheet at Hearts and manager Craig Levein has been full of praise for his impact on and off the pitch at Tynecastle.
“Thankfully he chose us,” the former Scotland manager told Edinburgh News.
“Part of the conversation was about helping other people and to be fair, when the chips are down, he’s been excellent. Off the field and, in particular, on the field.
“You don’t play at that level for that amount of time without having real mental strength and quality.”
This is not to say Smith is having sleepless nights regretting Whelan’s departure, however, with Douglas Luis and Marvelous Nakamba catching the eye since joining in the summer while keeping Mr Reliable Conor Hourihane out of the team.
But Villa have thrown away seven points in the last 20 minutes of games this season already and you have to wonder whether Whelan’s experience and composure could have stopped that from happening.
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