Aston Villa FC

• Nickname:
• Founded:1874
• Manager:Gerard Houllier

• Ground:
• Capacity:NaN

Villa close in on Routledge

30 Jan 2008 - 10:03:13

Click To Enlarge

Aston Villa are reportedly on the verge of completing a move for out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur winger Wayne Routledge.

Routledge, 23, has made just two appearances for Spurs this season and spent the majority of the last campaign on loan at Fulham.

The former England Under-21 international joined the White Hart Lane club from Crystal Palace in 2005, but has never scored a first-team goal after making just a handful of appearances.

Meanwhile, defender Wilfred Bouma has cooled talk that Villa are on course for a Champions League spot this season despite currently occupying fifth place in the table.

"We are still in the running for the Champions League at Villa but you have to be realistic," he told the club's official website.

"First you have to think about qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

"We have been lucky not to have had a lot of injuries and, fingers crossed, it will stay that way but we have to bear in mind that the other top clubs all have bigger squads than us.

"It will take another couple of years before we achieve a Champions League place.

"When you look where we've come from, you realise there's still some way to go."