ASTON VILLA HAVE allowed Irish midfielder Stephen Ireland to join Stoke City on a season-long loan.
The 27-year-old will link up with Mark Hughes, his former boss at Manchester City. The club announced the deal on their website at 5:45pm having been linked with the player earlier on a frantic transfer window deadline day.
Stoke chief executive Tony Scholes told the club website, “Stephen is a player that Mark knows really well and when the opportunity arose he was keen to add him to his midfield and attacking options.
“Arguably the most successful period of Stephen’s career to date was when he played for Mark at Manchester City and we hope that he can rediscover that form.”
Ireland played 138 times for Manchester City but struggled to establish himself at Villa and had a forgettable loan to Newcastle United two seasons ago. The Cork native has six international caps but has not played for Ireland since 2007. He will be eager to repay the faith Hughes has shown in him and break into The Potters’ midfield.
