Paul Heckingbottom: This is why Conor Hourihane joined Aston Villa
By Danny Wright
Paul Heckingbottom believes that Conor Hourihane joined Aston Villa because of their financial muscle.
Hourihane sealed a move to Villa Park in January for an undisclosed fee and the Barnsley boss says that the club had no way of competing with the amount of money Villa were able to offer.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Heckingbottom admits that he may have done the same as the midfielder if he were in the same position.
“Conor saw it as a massive opportunity,” the Barnsley-born manager said.
“But money has got a lot to do with it with the figures that players can earn in this league, never mind the Premier League, compared to those we were paying.
“It was outrageous and it is a short career and of course, I could understand it. If I had been a player at this moment in time with the same decision, I would have probably done the same.”
Hourihane was captain of the Tykes since December 2015 up until his move in January. In that same season the Irish midfielder lifted the Football League Trophy and the League One play-off trophy at Wembley.
The 26-year-old has made three appearances since signing for Villa but so far he has been on the losing team on each occasion.
He will be hoping to arrest that slump when his current side take on his former club Barnsley on Tuesday night in the West Midlands.
Villa are currently in freefall in the Championship and find themselves in 16th place after a run of seven league games without victory.
In other Aston Villa news, Paul McGrath delivers a message to Steve Bruce about the club’s current plight.
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