NO LOAN MOVE

The manager of Aston Villa, Paul Lambert, has made it clear that Shay Given will not be placed on loan to Hull City. In the last few days, there have been reports that Steve Bruce, the manager of Hull City, is interested in signing the veteran goalkeeper on loan and Given might be placed on loan. But, Lambert has said that Given is still quite valuable for Aston Villa and he is not interested in placing him on loan. However, Lambert confirmed that he was approached by the authorities of Hull regarding the loan move of Given.

Given’s weekly salary at Aston Villa is 60,000 Pounds and he still has more than three years left in his contract. He had joined Villa in the last season after leaving Manchester City. Villa had paid a transfer fee of 3 million Pounds for buying Given.

Talking to the reporters ahead of Villa’s match against Arsenal, Lambert said, “We are not going to place Given on loan. He is an experienced player and we need him. He has not been at his best in the ongoing season, but, he is still a vital member of the squad.”

Given had started the match against Manchester City. When asked if the veteran goalkeeper will be given the starting opportunities in the future matches as well, Lambert said, “We have two world class goalkeepers and we are looking to rotate them. But, frankly speaking, Guzan has performed better than Given in this season. So, there is a possibility that we will persist with Guzan in the next few matches.”

When asked whether Darren Bent has recovered from his ankle injury completely, Lambert said, “Yes, Bent has recovered and he is fit to play. He will probably be sent on to the field at some point of time in tomorrow’s match.”