Gabriel Agbonlahor has come back into Aston Villa’s first-team under Steve Bruce.
Steve Bruce has told Aston Villa’s official website that he has been shocked by the way Gabriel Agbonlahor has responded since he took charge.
Agbonlahor appeared to have no future at Villa while Roberto Di Matteo was in charge, and he almost left during the summer transfer window.
The rapid forward did not feature at all under Di Matteo, but Bruce was keen to offer the forward another chance after taking over.
The 55-year-old put Agbonalhor on a specialist training programme, and he has even given him some first-team action in recent matches.
And Bruce admits that he has been surprised by how well Agbonlahor has coped, despite his lack of match sharpness.
He said: “Gabby made an instant impact when he came on against Blackburn. I want that for 90 minutes now rather than 20-25 minutes.
“He’s ahead of schedule. I didn’t think he’d respond the way he has done. Fair play to him.
“He’s been battered here for a while, for whatever reason. Maybe he’s say he deserved it at times.
“But make no mistake he wants to be a player again here.”
Agbonlahor featured for Villa in their latest match, as they came from behind to claim the three points against Blackburn Rovers.
Villa went behind when Sam Gallagher scored for Blackburn, but the claret and blues hit back through Jonathan Kodjia twice to seal the victory.
Villa are now up to 14th place in the Championship table, after an impressive start to life under Bruce’s guidance.
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