After being made a scapegoat for his lacklustre performances at Manchester United over the past year or so, English midfielder Tom Cleverley is desperately looking for a new start - and has got one in the form of a season-long loan spell at Aston Villa. 

He is already targeting a recall to the international side with England, with the likes of Gerrard and Lampard recently retiring; players have a chance to prove themselves as the new breed of the country and need to step up. Cleverley's move is promising, as well as unsurprising as he was exploited by the United supporters for some poor performances last campaign. 

There is a clear difference in quality between Aston Villa and Manchester United, but who knows? If he plays well this season, he could earn himself a place back into the squad under Louis van Gaal. 

This is what he had to say on his move: "I have got to get back playing and hopefully as a by-product of that I can get back in the England team. The thing I am concentrating on though is trying to come in and hit the ground running so I can help Aston Villa. Playing football is what matters most to me and I'm looking forward to getting back to what I know I can do. This is the kind of club where I can do that. 

The prospect of working under the manager (Lambert) and Roy (Keane, the assistant manager), who were both fantastic midfielders in their playing careers, made the decision to come to Villa an easy one. I'm looking forward to working with them, but also the other really good midfield players that the club have, like Fabian Delph, Ashley Westwood and other new lads like Kieran Richardson, Joe Cole and Carlos Sanchez."

Meanwhile, his new manager Paul Lambert said this: "Tom brings big-game experience to the club, he's played international football for England and he still has great potential to kick on in his career. There's a lot of good football ahead of him if he performs the way we think he can perform and we're delighted to have been able to bring him in to join the group." 

Cleverley has something to prove, which suggests as though Aston Villa could get the best out of him in this loan spell.