Ashley Westwood joined Burnley from Aston Villa in the January transfer window.
Former Arsenal attacker Paul Merson has suggested in The Daily Star that Ashley Westwood was a scapegoat at Aston Villa.
Westwood was on the books of Villa from the summer of 2012 until January 2017 when he joined Burnley.
According to The Birmingham Mail, the Clarets had to pay the Villans a transfer fee of £5 million in order to secure his services.
Former Premier League chairman mocks Steve Bruce and Birmingham City
During his time at Villa Park, the 26-year-old made 161 appearances, 22 of which were this season.
Former Arsenal and Villa attacker Merson has suggested that Westwood was scapegoat at the Championship club.
Tony Xia has an encouraging message for Aston Villa fans
The Englishman has praised Burnley for signing the former Crewe Alexandra midfielder and for recruiting Robbie Brady, who joined the Premier League outfit from Norwich City last month.
“I think they had a great transfer window bringing in Robbie Brady, who a few clubs were after, and Ashley Westwood, who I think was a bit of a scapegoat at Aston Villa,” Merson wrote about Burnley in The Daily Star.
Villa are 14th in the Championship table at the moment with 36 points from 29 matches and are likely to miss out on the playoffs this season.
Meanwhile, Burnley currently find themselves 12th in the Premier League table with 29 points from 24 games and should comfortably end the season mid-table.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
