Ian Holloway raved about Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane for his display against Derby on Monday and admitted he previously wanted to sign him when he was QPR manager.
The currently unattached boss shared that he was pleased that the 28-year-old Villans midfielder had won promotion to the Premier League and admitted he tried to sign him ahead of Aston Villa for QPR in 2017.
Holloway described Hourihane as a fantastic player and shared he was disappointed that the Villans knocked QPR out of the ball park for him in order to sign him for £3million (Source: Daily Mirror).
“The one I’m pleased for is Conor Hourihane as he was a fantastic player at Barnsley and they bought him for £3million and I was in the market for him and they took him by taking us right out of the ball park,” said the manager on talkSPORT (17:02, Monday May 27th).
“But at first, he didn’t hit the ground running, he wasn’t a big enough signing, but he was brilliant today, fantastic.”
OPINION
It’s hard to imagine Hourihane not being at Villa Park. While the 28-year-old midfielder has only been at the club for a couple years, he feels like someone who has played for the Villans for many more as he just seems to play with such passion for them. Hourihane has made a total of 112 appearances for the Villans and he will no doubt add to that tally next season. The experienced midfielder has never had the opportunity to play in the Premier League but he will no doubt get a chance next season. Hourihane has been key to Dean Smith’s side in recent weeks, including in the play-off final, and it would be unfair if he didn’t get a chance in England’s top-flight. The midfielder may need some time to adjust to the demands of the Premier League after being in the Championship so long, but he is worth sticking with.