Cost £500k a game: Three Aston Villa midfielders that must leave after Whelan capture

COMMENT By Will Butcher

Steve Bruce must offload three of his Aston Villa central midfielders in the coming weeks after completing the signing of Stoke City ace Glenn Whelan on Thursday.

Aston Villa confirmed on their official website that the Premier League veteran had decided to take a step down and join the Midlands giants in their promotion assault on the Championship.

Villa already had an abundance of central midfielders available to them before the signing of Whelan, and Bruce now needs to make a decision on a number of his senior stars.

Football Insider considers which three midfielders need to leave the club in the near future in order to make room for Ireland international Whelan in the middle of the park.

Here are those three players, including a midfielder that has cost the club a princely £500,000 a game:

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Gary Gardner

Gardner managed to start just 18 Championship matches last season in the claret and blue of Villa, as he struggled to make an impression under Bruce.

The former Nottingham Forest midfielder is more defensively minded but is now likely to be way down the pecking order behind Whelan and Australia international Mile Jedinak.

Still only 25 years of age, Bruce could command a fee of around £2million to £3million for the midfielder and that could be crucial in helping Villa add to other areas of their squad that are in need of improvement.

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Birkir Bjarnason

Iceland international Bjarnason has struggled since his move from FC Basel in January and now needs to leave in the near future in order to save his declining career.

The 29-year-old made just eight appearances for Bruce's side, away from his natural position of central midfield and escaping through the exit door should be at the top of his personal agenda before the window slams shut in six weeks.

With Whelan now in the side, Bjarnason's chances of game time will have grown even slimmer and a move is now the only option.

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Aaron Tshibola

A signing under flop manager Roberto Di Matteo, Tshibola cost the club a huge £5million from Championship side Reading but has since made just 10 appearances, costing the club half a million each appearance.

He has been since loaned out to Championship rivals Nottingham Forest, where he managed just four outings and now needs to move on for the good of his career, especially since Whelan's arrival.

In other Aston Villa transfer news, Bruce must join the reported race to sign a West Ham star available in a cut-price deal.

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