Aston Villa are pursuing Stoke City midfielder Glenn Whelan.
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has told the Birmingham Mail that he is hoping to see Stoke City’s Glenn Whelan become the club’s next signing.
Villa had been quiet in the transfer market before pulling off one of the coups of the summer, landing former Chelsea defender John Terry on a free transfer.
Terry, 36, will bring experience to the Villa defence, as well as a winning mentality having won everything there was to win during his time as Chelsea captain.
Republic of Ireland’s Glenn Whelan in action with Austria’s Zlatko Junuzovic
Now, manager Steve Bruce must turn his attention to landing other signings, though he is somewhat restricted by Financial Fair Play regulations until Villa can sell some players on.
That isn’t stopping Bruce from pursuing more signings though, with Stoke City’s veteran midfielder Glenn Whelan emerging as a name near the top of Bruce’s transfer wish list.
As reported by Sky Sports, Villa failed with a £500,000 bid for Whelan last month, and it remains to be seen whether Bruce’s men can push the deal over the line.
The Republic of Ireland international, 33, has made almost 350 appearances for Stoke since joining from Sheffield Wednesday in January 2008, but Darren Fletcher’s arrival from West Brom this summer could see him pushed out of Mark Hughes’ side.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce
Now, Villa manager Bruce has told the Birmingham Mail that nothing has changed in the pursuit of Whelan since making the bid almost a month ago, but he hopes that the experienced midfielder will become Villa’s next signing after securing Terry’s signature.
“We made a bid a couple of weeks ago and nothing has changed,” said Bruce. “That is where we are. I think we need to have a little bit more steel and determination and aggression, especially in the Championship. I have left that with the powers that be so that could be the next one hopefully,” he added.
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