Aston Villa continue to edge closer to the Barnsley captain although his performances do not betray an ounce of unprofessionalism.
You learn a lot about a player’s character during the transfer window. While Dimitri Payet tainted his West Ham reputation by refusing to fulfil his contractual duties it is a credit to Conor Hourihane that he has never once refused to play or forced his manager to reveal to the national press a problem that could destabilise the club’s season.
Despite The Sun reporting that Barnsley’s play-maker is nearing a £3 million move to Villa Park, his preferred destination, Hourihane continues to wear the captain’s armband with pride.
Until he leaves, either in the final few weeks of the January window or in the summer when his contract expires, the 25-year-old remains respectful to the club that handed him an opportunity at a higher level and gave him the platform to become one of the finest players outside the top flight.
Even in the midst of relentless speculation, Hourihane once again marshalled the Barnsley midfield with class and guile in their dramatic 3-2 win over Yorkshire rivals Leeds on Saturday, scoring their second with a trademark free-kick.
Needless to say, Villa could do with a few more players with a similar mind-set. Compared to Jolean Lescott tweeting a picture of his £100,000 super car hours after a 6-0 home tonking by Liverpool and captain Gabby Agbonlahor living it up on holiday while his boyhood club collapsed, Ross McCormack missing training because his front gates were stuck seems a rather run-of-the-mill example of indiscipline.
Nonetheless, you get the feeling that Hourihane would stick to writing headlines for the right reasons.
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