19-year-old defender shares how he felt after finding out Aston Villa were interested
By Harvey Byrne
Young defender and January signing James Bree has revealed he had no decision to make after hearing of Aston Villa’s interest.
The 19-year-old right-back made the switch to the Midlands giants in the winter window from Yorkshire club Barnsley after impressing at the Tykes.
He has since made just seven appearances for Steve Bruce’s men with Alan Hutton usually favoured over the teenager.
It is surely a lesser return than Bree had initially hoped for after signing from Barnsley, but the youngster has shared that when he heard about Villa’s interest in himself he didn’t think of going anywhere else.
“Once I knew Villa were interested I didn’t really think about anywhere else,” told Bree to the official Aston Villa website.
“It was a good step up for me.
“The manager is a huge manager, you know what you’re going to get with him.
“I’d only heard good things about the coaching staff, the group of lads and the place as a whole.
“It wasn’t much of a decision.
“Once I knew Villa were interested, I immediately felt it was somewhere I wanted to come to.
“I’ve got an apartment in the city, it’s a different kind of lifestyle.
“I’m getting used to it, a few of the lads live close by.
“It’s been good I’ve settled in well.
“I want to come back in pre-season fighting fit, do well and see what happens.
“I hope to play as many games as possible and kick on.”
Bree had formerly played in 61 matches for Barnsley after making his professional debut for the club back in May 2014 in a 3-2 defeat against QPR.
He became the club’s second youngest debutant and he also played in 19 matches for the Yorkshire team in the Championship this season.
The teenager will now be looking to feature more regularly for Aston Villa next season as Bruce’s men look to improve on their 13th placing.
Meanwhile, Bruce will also be looking to bolster his squad this summer, but with Bree, Hutton and the returning Ritchie De Laet all able to play in the right-back position it is unlikely that he will add to that area of his squad.
In other Aston Villa news, the Midlands giants have been linked with interest in this Liverpool midfielder.
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