The powerful youngster has signed on loan until the end of the season.
West Brom’s Ryan Pace (R) and Aston Villa’s Riccardo Calder in action
Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley has been singing the praises of Aston Villa, after they allowed the club to sign youngster Riccardo Calder on loan for nothing.
Lincoln completed deals for Calder and goalkeeper Neil Etheridge of Doncaster Rovers last month and Cowley told Lincolnshire Live how grateful he was to be able to stretch his squad:
“We’re done. I have to thank Doncaster and Aston Villa. Villa gave us Riccardo Calder for free which has really helped us.
“We’ve got so many games and we’ve now got cover in every position. Saturday’s game was our 47th game of the season and there’s been some really big ones among them.”
Calder, who was on the bench for the FA Cup defeat against Arsenal at the weekend, will now be hoping to prove himself at Sincil Bank.
Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley
The powerful midfielder, who can play on the left or centrally and even at left-back came through the ranks at Villa showing plenty of promise. An England under-17 international the hope was he might go on to become an Aston Villa first-teamer – especially after helping his side win the NextGen Series in 2013.
But he has struggled to sustain his progress and is yet to play for the Aston Villa first-team. He is out of contract in the summer and will know that he is facing a serious battle to continue his Aston Villa career beyond the summer.
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