Paul Merson has been approached by Fulham about a move back
to London.
Owner
Mohammed Al Fayed and manager Jean Tigana see Merson as the player
to win promotion to the Premiership for the west London club.
Fulham's interest has been known for some time and a £3M fee was
agreed.
This has prompted Villa to search for replacements, failing in
bids to land Jordi Cruyff and David Ginola. This is the last move
in Merson "I'm leaving - I'm Staying - I'm leaving" summer saga.
Paul
Charles Merson |
Club: |
Aston Villa |
Date of Birth: |
20 March 1968 |
Birthplace: |
Harlesden |
Height: |
6'0" |
Weight: |
13.2 |
Club Honours: |
Division One '89,
'91; League Cup '93; FA Cup '93; Cup Winners Cup '94 |
International Honours: |
England: 21; B International-4;
U21-4; Yth |
Transfers: |
Arsenal (From
apprentice on 1/12/85) Football and Premier League 289+38/78
League Cup 38+2/9 FA Cup 28+3/4 Others 27+2/7
Brentford (Loaned on 22/1/87) Football League 6+1 Others
1+1
Middlesbrough (£4,500,000 + on 15/7/97) Football and
Premier League 48/12 League Cup 7/3 FA Cup 3/1
Aston Villa (£6,750,000 on 10/9/98) Premier League
21+5/5 FA Cup 1
|
After seemingly resurrecting
his career, and enjoying a World Cup squad place with England in
France '98, Paul's return to Teesside took a turn for the worse
as far as Middlesbrough were concerned when, having played in just
three Premiership matches, and taking the "Man of the Match" award
in two of them, he requested a move. Following that, he committed
himself to Aston Villa for four years in mid September, scored on
his debut at home to Wimbledon, and quickly proved to be an inspirational
player among what was a young side. Predominantly playing in an
attacking midfield role, behind the front two, he was just as comfortable
in the out-and-out striker role, his versatility there for all to
see. Selected for England against the Czech Republic and scoring,
following the game it became apparent that he was carrying a back
injury and, having come off at half time at Nottingham Forest, he
was advised by a specialist that with damage to soft tissues rather
than the disc only rest would cure the problem. After missing eight
games, he came back with a bang in mid January, coming off the bench
to score at home against Everton, and proceeded to have his best
spell at the club, before the arrival of Steve Stone in March saw
a change to the playing formation, which resulted in him spending
more time on the subs' bench than on the pitch. Paul generally has
to make do with a place on the Aston Villa bench this season. With
half of the season gone the former England international has started
just nine games, scoring just once. When coming on as a substitute
he has often lifted the side but generally he has been disapointed
not to have featured more.