Aston Villa Rumors: Micah Richards Set For Sunderland Move
By Josh Tonti
After a turbulent twelve months as Aston Villa Captain, Micah Richards is set for a £5 million pound move to Sunderland.
Early Monday morning, rumors began circulating that the former Manchester City and England international was widely expected to undergo a medical with Sunderland. The twenty-eight year old defender appeared in twenty-four Premier League matches during the 2015/2016 season.
Almost two weeks ago, Roberto Di Matteo announced his desire to trim the squad down to a more serviceable number. Principal owner, Dr. Tony Xia, reiterated those thoughts in a few tweets on Monday:
Trimming is needed &then will be new signings till window closes.3-4 be informed next week to farewell the old days pic.twitter.com/wvdXMTGauS
— Dr. Tony Xia (@Dr_TonyXia) July 24, 2016
In a strange tweet? (That’s Mao Zedong in the middle of the picture), Xia suggests some players will be told they are not in the first team picture this coming season. As a surprise to no Aston Villa fan, Micah Richards seems to be one of the players on their way out–possibly to make room for new signings.
More from Claret Villans
- Aston Villa dismiss Everton for first win of Premier League season
- Tyrone Mings injured in Aston Villa’s season-opening 5-1 defeat
- Aston Villa draw Hibernian or FC Luzern for Europa Conference League play-off
- Aston Villa sign winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen
- Aston Villa close in on deal to sign Pau Torres from Villareal
A once promising footballer, Richards’ career stagnated at Manchester City which later followed a free transfer to Villa last summer. Late in the Tim Sherwood-led pre-season, he was named captain of the squad with Gabby Agbonlahor serving as club captain.
Micah Richards is a bit of a ‘tweener for a defender. Listed at 5’11” 183lbs, what he lacks in pure size, he makes up for with pace and brutish strength. Unfortunately for Villa, he lacks the positional awareness to effectively play as a central defender–necessitating a move to right fullback where he routinely becomes caught out against superior wing players.
The transfer, and any possible funds resulting from the sale, should help Roberto Di Matteo and ownership bring in fresh faces for the squad. The current right back situation remains a mess and should be the number one priority in this summer’s transfer window. The incumbent starter remains a toss-up between Alan Hutton and Leandro Bacuna.
David Moyes is hoping to complete the signings of Micah Richards and Charles N'Zogbia after taking over at Sunderland.
— Bolarinwa Olajide (@iambolar) July 25, 2016
The newly hired David Moyes will look forward to bringing Micah Richards on board at Sunderland. It is unclear what position they intend to utilize him at.