Tom Carroll surprisingly joined Aston Villa on loan from Championship rivals Swansea City while Leroy Fer remained in South Wales.
Aston Villa were heavily tipped to sign a Swansea City midfielder in the final few hours of the January transfer window. But it was supposed to be Leroy Fer who was posing in the claret and blue kit, not Tom Carroll.
Sky Sports reported with about an hour and a half remaining before the 11pm deadline that Aston Villa had made an approach to sign The Swans’ influential captain, Leroy Fer.
So few expected that Tom Carroll would swap the Liberty Stadium for Villa Park instead – while Fer remained in South Wales.
The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has joined Dean Smith’s side on loan until the end of the season. An intelligent and tidy passer of the ball, Carroll could prove to be a good fit for the possession-based style introduced by the former Brentford boss.
But should Villa fans be worried? After all, it seems that Swansea fans on Twitter were more than happy to see Carroll bid farewell while Fer stayed in South Wales.
The 26-year-old never lived up to expectations at the Liberty and it speaks volumes that supporters are hardly mourning his departure.
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