Fly me away: David Villa likes the English Premier
League
David Villa is set to spark a bidding war
between Manchester
United and Chelsea by
admitting he is ready to move to the Barclays Premier
League.
The Valencia striker has revealed he is a keen follower of
English football and explained why he had now changed his views on
never leaving Spain.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson would love to sign the 28-year-old
and has the funds to launch a £35million raid, but Villa has many
admirers.
Chelsea captain John Terry urged Roman Abramovich to
sign the Euro 2008 winner in the summer and the Blues could turn to
him if they are frustrated in a bid for Sergio Aguero.
Real Madrid and Barcelona also bid for Villa in the summer, but
he is now prepared to seek his fortune outside of La Liga.
Super seven: Villa has been in hot form
Explaining why he wouldn't consider a move to England in
the summer, he told The
Times: 'Quite simply, I rejected the possibility of moving
abroad at that moment because my wife was pregnant and it didn't
seem right to leave.
'I like the Premier League a lot. It's the league I follow the
most along with La Liga
and I've got a lot of friends playing there. There are a lot of
globally important teams there that play very good football.
'Maybe quite a few years ago, Spanish players were reluctant to
leave La Liga for another
league, but that's all changed now.
'There are very important players, a showcase of Spanish
footballers playing for Premier League clubs, and there are players
in other leagues, lesser leagues, as well. I think that the Spanish
footballer has changed in this aspect in the last few years.'
Liverpool boss
Rafa Benitez would love to partner Villa with Fernando Torres up
front, but do not have the funds to launch a transfer bid at the
moment, while Manchester
City's new manager Roberto Mancini may also want to
consider a bid.
Villa has always been cautious to offend a club he feels a great
debt to, but it is Valencia's financial woes which could signal the
end of his career at the club.
The fourth-place side in La Liga are determined to keep hold of
their star players till the end of the season, but are then
expected to cash in on assets like Villa and David Silva to eat
into debts of about £625m.
Villa said: 'I have a duty to Valencia. It's my club: the one
that pays my wages and with whom I have a contract.
'This summer, they'll have a look at things, analyse them and in
time we'll see what happens.
'All I can do now is stay relaxed, try and score as many goals
as possible and have a good a season as possible, as much as with
my club as with the national team.
'We're still a long way off from the months of June and July,
and when they come around we'll analyse the situation then.'