Dean Marney is reportedly training with Aston Villa after his time with Premier League Burnley came to an end.
Surprise surprise, this has not gone down too well.
Plenty of Villa fans have been vocal about their opposition to Steve Bruce’s penchant for signing ageing players, particularly when the club has a whole host of young talent sitting and waiting for an opportunity, such as Jordan Lyden and Jake Doyle-Hayes.
So the prospect of signing a 34-year-old free agent who has not played for 16 months thanks to a cruciate ligament injury has been met with a rather predictable response.
But are Villa fans a little too quick to write off Marney? If he can regain his fitness, the former Tottenham man could be a fine addition on a free, adding experience and proven Championship quality, not to mention a fine replacement for the exit-linked Mile Jedinak.
Marney won the Championship title with Burnley as recently as 2016, after all.
For now, however, the supporters should contain their frustration. The Mirror adds that Bruce cannot even afford to sign free agents at the moment so it remains to be seen whether a deal for Marney, who is also a target for Nottingham Forest, is even possible this summer.
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