Aston Villa Football Club News

• Nickname:The Villains
• Founded:1874
• Manager:Alex McLeish

• Ground:Villa Park
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Barry pens Villa deal

27 Aug 2006 - 14:21:09

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Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry has ended speculation about his future by inking a new four-year deal with the club.

The 25-year-old had been linked with a Villa Park exit earlier this summer but the arrival of new boss Martin O'Neill has tempted him to extend his stay with the club.

Barry has made 316 first-team appearances for Villa since making his Premiership debut in a 3-1 victory at Sheffield Wednesday over eight years ago.

He was named captain at the start of this season and scored against Reading on Wednesday.

After that victory, O'Neill said: "Gareth Barry was terrific. He played really well and scored a fantastic goal to win it for us.

"We want to keep him and we are in the throes of doing something about it. I want him to stay. It is really important to us.

"He is a popular lad and we want to keep him. I don't want to pre-empt anything, but I definitely want him to stay at Villa."