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Aussie Battler
Aston Villa have finally confirmed the signing of Crystal Palace’s former captain Mile Jedinak, after his visa hold-up has been finally sorted.
The Australian defensive midfielder’s actions at the end of Palace’s 1-0 home defeat to West Brom seemed to confirmed he was leaving, as he threw his shirt into the Palace crowd, as they serenaded him, as if saying their good byes.
Having lost the Palace captaincy to Scott Dann, it seems his relationship with Palace boss Alan Pardew had cooled and perhaps he was falling out of favour. The prospect of obtaining a three-year deal would have also been attractive for the 32-year-old midfielder.
With Gareth Barry still playing at 35, Jedinak will be worth those three years and will be a great addition to the Villa team, that has been crying out for a proper midfield presence to shield the back four for years now.
Leaders
Adding Jedinak to the on-field leadership qualities of Elphick, McCormack and Chester, and Villa will suddenly have authoritative voices and leaders in all phases of the pitch.
If promotion from the Championship is to be a long-haul battle, then Villa will have obtained a decent set of generals to lead the campaign ahead. Proper men, who are up for the fight.
In the last summer transfer window, there perhaps was too much of a focus on player’s statistics, which overshadowed the player’s actual mental characteristics and attributes.
On-pitch leadership has been distinctly lacking in recent seasons, with Villa even struggling to find a proper captain of the team, who possessed such qualities. Now they will have three or four to call upon.
Jedinak is also the captain of the Australian national team and his no nonsense style will add much needed bite into the Villa midfield, which has appeared lightweight even when lining up against supposed lesser opponents.
If the likes of Jack Grealish and Adama Traore are to flourish, then the fact there is a proper defensive midfielder behind them, may allow them to express themselves more, as tracking back hasn’t exactly been their forte.
Mile Jedinak in a Villa shirt, it’s a thumbs up from MOMS.
UTV
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A great signing. It’s obvious the midfield needs strengthening.
I see a lot of positives on this transfer if it happens, mostly covered above. Worry about length of contract as not sure he has 3 years at the top level left, but for this season and maybe next it is exactly what we need. Steel right thru the middle now. Leaves Gardner in a pickle again as there is a lot of competition for the middle of the park and he hasn’t shined so far.
Pardew, doesn’t like his job? The Palace fans aren’t gonna be too happy. As I understand it he nearly had to leave Newcastle in the dark of night, London too?