Report discloses when Aston Villa will decide Micah Richards’ future

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Former Manchester City ace Micah Richards has not played for Championship side Aston Villa since Steve Bruce took charge in October 2016.

Aston Villa could be set for a clearout this summer.

According to the Birmingham Mail, some of the club’s most experienced players are facing uncertainty at Villa Park. 31-year-old Gabby Agbolahor is definitely leaving with a move to the MLS or even an early retirement mooted, while the futures of Alan Hutton and John Terry are also set to come under consideration.

But there is another experienced defender whose future at Aston Villa remains unknown.

Micah Richards has not played a single game since October 2016 with a knee injury, the same one that ruined Ledley King’s career, keeping him on the sidelines for much of that time.

The Birmingham Mail, however, claimed that Richards stands to double his £35,000 a week wages if Aston Villa are promoted this season – which is a definite possibility with a place in the Championship play-offs already secured.

Understandably, Villa fans were very irate with suggestions that their high-earning forgotten man is in line for a pay rise despite not contributing at all on the pitch this season. Some even went as far as to suggest that his contract, which expires in 2019, should be terminated one year early.

So it will be interesting to see what decision Villa make on Richards’ future this summer.

If fit, the former Manchester City star and England international could offer some vital experience in Steve Bruce’s backline. But that is an almighty ‘if’.

Then again, it seems unlikely that any club would be keen to sign a player who has not featured for over 500 days – so the likelihood seems that he will just see out the final year of his contract.