O'Neill hoping Emile Heskey will help Villa hit Europe
Jan 24 2009 By Matt McKenzie
Martin O’Neill is hoping Emile Heskey will help Aston Villa maintain the momentum which has put them on course for a Champions League spot.
Heskey was today poised to complete a £3.5m move from Wigan, subject to passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.
The deal will reunite Heskey with O’Neill, nine-years after his £11million transfer from Leicester to Liverpool.
If all goes to plan, Heskey should make his Villa debut in Tuesday’s Barclay’s Premier League match at Portsmouth.
O’Neill believes the 31-year-old, who will sign a three-and-a-half-year contract, can play alongside either Gabriel Agbonlahor or John Carew - who is on his way back to fitness following a back problem.
O’Neill said: ``We have agreed a fee with Wigan, and Emile is making his way down here to undergo a medical.
``If that works out, he will be joining us.
``We are in a decent position at the moment. We need to keep the momentum going. We don’t have the biggest squad in the world, and currently John Carew is out and Ashley Young is suspended.
``Emile will bring something to us. ’Gabby’ has done fantastic up front on his own, and Emile will give us another option.
``He can play with either ’Gabby’ or John. He will be excellent for us. He is currently vying to be the number one England centre-forward - so in terms of value, this is a great deal for us."
O’Neill was quickly aware of Heskey’s talent when working with him for four years at Leicester.
He said: ``I know him from my days at Leicester, and he was fantastic for us. He had plenty of natural talent, even though he was only a young kid.
``He played out wide for a season and did the sort of work that Ashley Young and James Milner now do for us at Villa.
``We were sad to see him leave. But he wanted to go to Liverpool and play with Michael Owen - and he has done exceptionally well in his career.
``I will be delighted to renew acquaintances with him. He is still relatively young at 31, and in good shape."
Heskey’s expected arrival has come too late for him to be involved in tomorrow’s FA Cup clash with Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium.
But he will be eligible to play later in the competition if Villa make progress, after not featuring for Wigan in their third-round tie against Tottenham.
Both Owen and Wayne Rooney have praised Heskey for helping to bring the best out of them with England at international level.
O’Neill is hoping Heskey can do a similar job in helping to take Agbonlahor on to the next level.
The Villa boss will continue to add to his squad during the remainder of the January transfer window, with a central defender among his priorities.
Captain Martin Laursen was today ruled out for two months, after undergoing surgery to his troublesome knee.
