Gabby Agbonlahor has declared that he is willing to play for free in order to help his boyhood club Aston Villa, in the wake of the Villans' managerial change.
Having made just six appearances for Villa last season, Agbonlahor's contract expired and his 13-year association with the club came to an end.
Speaking to the Sun, the striker said: "
“There were no strings, I didn’t want paying.
“It was a genuine offer to help the club I love.”
The answer was Gabby Agbonlahor who earned the second of his three @England caps pic.twitter.com/4TkrqE0HN8
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 15, 2018
Whilst this is indeed a generous offer from Agbonlahor, the last two years of the English striker's career at the Midlands club were tainted with fitness and disciplinary problems.
In 2016, Agbonlahor was reportedly pictured holding a shisha pipe and using laughing gas canisters. This led to then-manager, Roberto Di Matteo, dropping the former Villa
Despite being reinstated into the squad by Steve Bruce following his appointment in 2016, the recently-sacked Aston Villa manager was forced put Agbonlahor on a six-week fitness course. This did not reap the desired rewards as the Englishman scored just twice in 20 appearances over Bruce's two seasons in charge.
Gabby Agbonlahor: "I'll play for Aston Villa for free"
— OurAVFC (@ouravfc) October 18, 2018
How about you give us the £55,000 a week back for the last 3 seasons (£8.5 Million) and then we'll talk.#avfc
However, the Villans have struggled so far this campaign and currently sit 13th in the Championship table. Scoring goals has not been the main problem for Dean Smith's side, having netted 21 goals so far in 13 league games. Villa have instead been defensively fragile, conceding 20 goals already.
Smith's first game in charge of the Championship club resulted in a satisfactory 1-0 victory over Swansea City, as Villa's summer loan-signing, Tammy Abraham, netted the winner.
Their next test comes in the form of an away trip to Norwich City
Source: 90min
