Reported Aston Villa target Rico Henry said that he grew up a Villan before a failed trial at the Premier League club, while speaking to Brentford’s official YouTube channel.
There are two ways of looking at this if you’re a Villa fan.
On one hand, Henry obviously has a history with the Midland giants. A one-time claret-and-blue fanatic, arguably the second-tier’s finest left-back may feel that he has unfinished business at Villa Park.
On the other, Henry has obviously lost some of his devotion for the 1982 European champions.
After five years in West London, the Birmingham-born defender now has red and white blood flowing through his veins. Villa, it seems, are in the past.
“You know what, people don’t know this. (I was a fan of) Aston Villa because my dad supported them. I went on trial at Villa and didn’t get signed so my dad stopped supporting them,” Henry explained.
“So we were kind of forced to watch Birmingham (instead). It was crazy.
“I’m quite detached now. Brentford is my team and you don’t want to think about other clubs. Now, I don’t really support anyone.”
With The Athletic reporting that Aston Villa are weighing up a summer swoop for Henry, who played under Dean Smith at both Walsall and Brentford, it feels wrong to suggest that this would be a case of reigniting an old flame.
Then again, if Brentford miss out on promotion once more, the chance to play Premier League football at his boyhood club may feel like an opportunity too good to pass up.
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