Steven Gerrard makes exciting Aston Villa transfer statement (original) (raw)
Steven Gerrard has revealed how new signings Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos had offers from Champions League clubs prior to signing long-term deals at Aston Villa. The head coach, 42, also detailed how he managed to visit both players in person and, with it, sold Villa’s exciting vision for the seasons ahead.
BirminghamLive asked Gerrard if he had in fact locked the pair in a room as he joked this past week with regards to the future of Cameron Archer, and smiled: “Sort of, sort of! No, listen, we had the opportunity to get in front of both players and we had the opportunity to sell our vision of the club to really let them know where we want to go and how ambitious we want to be.
“They’re the type of players that we were looking for to recruit and bring in. There was no point in me trying to recruit players that were going to make us stand still and I didn’t want to recruit players just to add to the numbers. I wanted to make players that were good enough for the XI, to make a difference.
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“Naturally, the squad will grow and will become better from that so, for them to say yes and to attract that calibre of player, as you say, are capable of playing Champions League and had options to play Champions League, is a big coup for this club.”
Gerrard, speaking ahead of tomorrow’s friendly with Manchester United in Perth, added: “They’ve settled really quick, they’ve shown their ability. They’ve shown their character and, more importantly, they’re here to win.
“They’re here to settle into the group very much as team players. Diego’s going to be a really big man and a leader for us at the back. You can see that straight away and Kamara’s going to give us style, he’s going to give us a passing range that I didn’t feel we had.
“Both players have played at a level where they know what winning matches is all about. They’ve played in European games, international competitions, so I’m delighted to have them both but it can’t stop here.
“When we get the opportunity again, whether that’ll be this window or moving forward, that’s the calibre of player that Aston Villa need to attract to be able to grow and, going back to the guy’s earlier question, if we want to disrupt the higher echelons of this league, we need top players.”
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