‘Happy days’ for Aston Villa after news breaks on first-team trio – pundit
Aston Villa will be “doing cartwheels” if the Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to take place between January and February is cancelled.
That is the view of ex-Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the upcoming tournament.
The CAF Executive Committee have highlighted issues in host country Cameroon’s infrastructure that require urgent attention.
The Express reported on 26 October that if Cameroon does not find a solution then the delayed tournament could be cancelled or postponed.
Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore is set to represent Burkina Faso, while Marvelous Nakamba will play for Zimbabwe.
Mahmoud Trezeguet meanwhile will turn out for Egypt if he can recover from a knee injury before the 6 January start date.
The trio could potentially miss up to a month of football for Dean Smith’s side if the continental showpiece goes ahead as planned.
Kenny claims that Villa will hope that the Cup of Nations is delayed or called off entirely.
“It will be happy days for Villa,” he told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.
“They need their best players at the moment. They haven’t been in the best of form and you never know what might happen between now and January.
“It will be a massive relief to Villa if it is cancelled, I’m sure they will be doing cartwheels. Although, it would be a shame for the players.
“To lose three players for that long, it would have a big effect. They’re all good footballers and they will want them available.”
In other news, Newcastle United plot January Ward-Prowse raid after Aston Villa bid rejected.