O'LEARY RULES OUT MOVE FOR UNSETTLED SAVIOLA

By Ryan Ghee
July 19 2005

David O'Leary has revealed that Villa will not be enquiring about a possible move for Argentinian hitman Javier Saviola. Various newspapers have claimed that O'Leary flew out to spain to speak to his representatives but O'Leary has made it clear that the reports are pure fabricaton.

David O'Leary refuted reports which claimed that he had flown out to Barcelona at the weekend in the hope of persuading Saviola to join the Villains. Speaking to Aston Villa's official website O'Leary said, "Saviola? That's why I don't read the papers.That's why I was supposed to have been in Barcelona last week was it?"
Although O'Leary made it perfectly clear that he doesn't intend to sign Saviola, he did make it clear that he hopes to bring in more new faces before the start of the season. He said, "Without a doubt I want a couple more, but it's whether we can get them in the budget."
Again, it seems that Villa's tight budget (and Chairman!) are stopping the club from becoming a contender in European football. Just two months ago, Villa fans were rejoicing at the news that this summer £20 million would be available for transfers. Now, after spending a total of £3 million on four new players, O'Leary is talking about how he is being forced to work with a small amount of money.
If Doug Ellis would put his hand in his pocket for once, Villa would undoubtedly attract some big name players and the club would have the funds to attract players of Saviola's ability. However, as long as Doug Ellis is the chairman of the club, Villa will fail to become a major force in Europe and the manager will have to make do with a measly £5 million kitty every summer.

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