Aston Villa have recruited very well over the summer and now Dean Smith will be wanting to showcase his style of play on the big stage.
Tim Sherwood has claimed that Tom Heaton is Aston Villa’s signing of the summer as he claimed that Jack Grealish ‘doesn’t get appreciated enough’.
Former Premier League winner Sherwood applauded Villa for their capture of Heaton because of his ‘experience’ and ‘you know what you’re getting’.
Since their promotion to the Premier League, Villa have secured the signatures of 12 players, including Heaton, who arrived from Burnley.
Speaking on The Debate on Sky Sports Premier League (08/09/2019 at 10:40 pm), Sherwood backed Grealish to make the next England squad now he’s in the Premier lEAGUE, as he credited his former club for signing Heaton.
“It’s an awful lot of players,” Sherwood told the Debate. “There’s only one on the list who I can see who has Premier League experience. I would say Tom Heaton is their best signing. You know what you’re getting. International goalkeeper. I think he’s a top, top signing. You need a good goalkeeper and I think he’s a calming influence on the defenders. It’s an unforgiving league, you make mistakes then you get punished.
“He’s going to need help Jack. If he gets help, they are competitive and they are getting the ball in the right areas then we can see a superstar in the making. I know we have seen glimmers of it. But he doesn’t get appreciated until it’s in the Premier League. He will play for England this season. And I am sure he will be in the next call-up if all goes well for Aston Villa.
“It’s brilliant to have them back in the Premier League, they are a Premiership club, they have a wonderful fanbase and they have got half a chance with the financial backing they are getting from the owners.”
Dean Smith’s first challenge is going to be a tough one because Villa will be locking horns with Champions League finalists Tottenham Hotspur.
Villa have had a strong pre-season and they will be hoping to take that confidence and momentum from their promotion into the Spurs encounter.
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