Eric Djemba-Djemba this evening joined Villa from Manchester United and reflected: « I could have stayed at Old Trafford, but I’m hungry for regular football. » The Cameroon international has signed a four-and-a-half-year Villa Park deal and will be available for Wednesday night’s trip to Fulham.
Djemba-Djemba has played Champions League football for United and was viewed as a useful squad member. But he was given the green-light to move after telling Sir Alex Ferguson he wanted more football.
The 23-year-old midfielder told www.avfc.co.uk: « I spoke with Sir Alex Ferguson and told him I wanted to improve myself and to play more games. Manchester United is a big team, but I didn’t want to stay there and not play.
« He said that if I had an opportunity to leave, good luck to me. The opportunity came – I had three or four clubs – and I decided Villa was a good team and I chose here.
« I’ve been here twice with United and Villa Park is a wonderful stadium. It is a good opportunity for me to play more football. I will have more chance to improve myself here, because I will have more chance to play the game.
« This is a good opportunity for me to show that I can make the grade in the Premiership. I am determined to succeed and do well for Aston Villa.
« Villa have good players and they play the sort of football I like, so I chose to come here because I know there is plenty of ambition to build a strong team. I came here to be part of that. »
