According to reports from The Independent, captain Ron Vlaar has admitted he could decide to stay on at Aston Villa by signing a new contract at the end of the season.
The Dutch international has let his current deal wind down into its final months, leading many to assume he’d leave the Birmingham outfit this summer.
Manchester United are known admirers; they need more bodies at the heart of defence and the 30 year-old excelled under Louis van Gaal’s leadership at the 2014 World Cup.
But Tottenham were also strongly linked last summer – The Express reporting a potential swap deal involving Lewis Holtby and Michael Dawson in July – and as This Is Futbol revealed earlier this morning, manager Mauricio Pochettino is keen to strengthen his centre-back options.
Now, however, it appears Vlaar’s had a change of heart – something he attributes to the feel-good factor Tim Sherwood has provided since taking the managerial helm from Paul Lambert in February.
Talking after the Villains’ 2-1 FA Cup semi-final win against Liverpool on Sunday, the former Feyenoord man told reporters; “Yes, it is [possible I could stay]. Things have changed for me in the past few months since Sherwood took over. It’s been a hard season for me with all the injuries. Now I just want to play and be important for the team. Reaching the final helps – you can trust me on that.
“It [moving clubs] is not something to think about right now. This feels really great and I also feel things have changed at the club. It wasn’t so good earlier in the year, but that’s football. Things change. A new manager came in, we all felt it was a new start,” he added.