The Manchester City news has brought memories of transfers between the two clubs flooding back, but none were quite as bizarre or painful as Fabian Delph’s £8million Aston Villa exit – a saga of loyalty, U-turns and questionable decisions that came to define an era
The latest Manchester City news has had me thinking about the transfers between Aston Villa and City over the years and, while there have been plenty of significant ones in both directions, I don't think any of them will ever quite match the bizarre circumstances in which Fabian Delph left Villa Park in the summer of 2015.
It remains one of the most painful sales of my time supporting Villa, not necessarily because Delph was the best player we have ever lost, but because of everything that surrounded it. There was so much emotion attached to him signing a new contract, then seemingly leaving, then dramatically staying and declaring his loyalty to Villa, only to actually leave six days later for what was, even then, a ridiculously low fee.
The story really began six months earlier. Delph had been approaching the end of his contract when he signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal in January 2015, describing himself as a loyal person and speaking emotionally about his relationship with the club. Villa had stood by him through some really difficult periods with injury and, having finally established himself as a Premier League midfielder and broken into the England squad, Delph committing his future felt like a huge moment.
What we didn't appreciate at the time was just how significant the £8million release clause inserted into that contract would become.
With the benefit of hindsight, you do wonder whether that was ultimately the main driver behind Delph signing the new deal. He received the security and presumably improved terms that came with a long-term contract, while simultaneously securing a route out of Villa for a fee that was comfortably below his market value if one of the country's biggest clubs came calling. We cannot know that was his motivation, but the existence of the clause certainly changes how that great show of loyalty looks when viewed 11 years later.
Manchester City triggered it in July and Delph initially appeared destined to leave. He didn't travel with Villa for their pre-season training camp in Portugal and was expected to undergo a medical with City, only for the entire story to turn on its head.
“I’m not leaving,” Delph announced.
He confirmed that he would remain at Villa and spoke about looking forward to captaining the club during the new season. Tim Sherwood said Delph had never told him he wanted to leave and, because City had met the clause, the decision had essentially been in the player's hands. Gabby Agbonlahor publicly praised his loyalty and Villa supporters understandably celebrated keeping their captain.
Six days later, he signed for Manchester City.
It was an extraordinary sequence of events and I think the captaincy made it hurt even more. Delph had endured a difficult start to life at Villa after joining from Leeds United, particularly because of injuries, but he had worked incredibly hard to turn his career around. He became an England international because of what he was doing at Villa, grew into a genuine leader and was a really good captain for the club. There was a connection there which made the manner of his departure feel very different to a normal transfer.
Delph later explained that his initial decision to reject City had been emotional and driven by his feelings towards Villa, before he reconsidered the football opportunity in front of him. Conversations with Micah Richards and Joe Hart also played a part, while he subsequently said that some of the recruitment he had expected Villa to undertake had not materialised.
With hindsight, perhaps he could see where Villa were heading before many of us wanted to admit it.
Delph went to City and won two Premier League titles, worked under Pep Guardiola and was selected in England's squad for the 2018 World Cup. From a purely career perspective, it is difficult to argue that the decision didn't work for him. The frustration was never really that Manchester City represented an attractive opportunity; it was everything Villa had allowed to happen around it and the extraordinary six days between Delph declaring that he was staying and walking through the door at City.
Christian Benteke was also on his way to Liverpool that summer and Ron Vlaar had left following the expiration of his contract, meaning the heart of the side which had reached the FA Cup final was disappearing almost simultaneously. There are obvious parallels with Villa losing important players in more recent windows, but the enormous difference is that the modern Villa are far better equipped to absorb those departures. In 2015, they weren't.
Villa eventually finished bottom of the Premier League with 17 points and were relegated for the first time in the Premier League era.
Looking back, the Delph saga probably summed up that entire period of the club better than almost anything else. There were plenty of good people around Villa and people who cared enormously about what happened to the club, but there was nowhere near enough football nous behind some of the decisions being made.
Allowing your captain and England international to sign a long-term contract containing an £8million release clause was a perfect example. Villa technically protected themselves from losing Delph for nothing, but they had effectively put a price on one of their most important players which made him incredibly attainable for the very clubs they were vulnerable to losing him to.
The player deserves criticism for the ridiculous way the saga unfolded, particularly after making such a definitive public commitment only days before leaving, but Villa created the circumstances which allowed it to happen.
Eleven years later, the whole thing still feels faintly ridiculous. Delph signed a new contract, appeared to leave, announced he was staying, was celebrated for his loyalty and then left anyway, all within the space of six months and ultimately for just £8million.
It was painful at the time, but viewed through everything that followed, it also feels like a snapshot of exactly what Aston Villa had become.
