Aston Villa have made their fourth signing of the summer today as experienced midfielder Glenn Whelan joined the club from Premier League side Stoke City for a fee of around £1 million.
An experienced figure
Whelan arrives at Villa Park with a host of experience in the top flight following his nine-year spell at Stoke. He is known for his battling performances in midfield and protecting the back four. Having been at Stoke for such a long period of time, he is bound to be missed by the club's supporters but it is an exciting new challenge for himself personally.
Before joining Stoke in 2008, he had also had spells at Manchester City, Bury and Sheffield Wednesday. It was at Hillsborough with Wednesday where he made a name for himself as he made 142 appearances, scoring 13 goals in the process. This led to Stoke acquiring his services for a fee of around £500,000.
He quickly became a fan's favourite at Stoke and has gone on to make a total of 336 appearances for the club under a number of different managers. However, despite his qualities, he is not known for his goalscoring ability and only found the back of the net six times during his spell at the club.
As well as a host of experience at club level, he has also featured for his country, the Republic of Ireland, on the international stage. He has made 81 appearances so far, scoring two goals.
Whelan looking forward to new 'adventure' at Villa
The 33-year-old certainly has the attributes to be a very astute addition to Steve Bruce's squad ahead of next season as they look to return to the top flight. However, he will have to fight for his place with the likes of Henri Lansbury, Conor Hourihane and Mile Jedinak already at the club.
However, he is looking forward to a new challenge after such a long time at Stoke. He told Aston Villa's official site: “I have enjoyed happy times at Stoke City but now is the time for a new football adventure – and what a club to join in Aston Villa."
He added: “We may be in the Championship but everything about this club screams Premier League – and it’s the job of the players to get us back up there."
Whelan has worked under some very experienced managers during his career such as Tony Pulis and most recently Mark Hughes but says the prospect of working under Bruce still excites him. He said: "I know he has a phenomenal record in achieving promotion to the top-flight and, having spoken to him at length, I am more than aware of how much he wants to get back there again with this great club.”