O'Leary urges contract talks

John Curtis
Wednesday 25 February 2004 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Aston Villa manager, David O'Leary, has spelt out his desire to sign four of his players - including the leading scorer, Juan Pablo Angel - on new contracts as soon as possible.

Angel, Gareth Barry and Thomas Hitzlsperger are all out of contract in the summer of 2005, while the current deal of Ulises de la Cruz runs out this summer. O'Leary, who has already pruned the squad by 11 players since he took charge in May, wants to tie up the services of his key players sooner rather than later. "I wish I could sign them now, the likes of Gareth, Juan Pablo and Thomas. I'd also like to keep Ulises," he said.

"It is not down to me, but I'd love it to happen - we don't want to lose them," he added. "What we want to do is add to them, not lose them." Barry has already expressed surprise at Villa not having opened negotiations, although the chairman, Doug Ellis, maintains talks will be held before the end of the current campaign.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in