10 Former Aston Villa Players They Could Do With Now

7. Kyle Walker

Villa Park was arguably the setting of Kyle Walker€™s breakthrough as a fully-fledged Premier League footballer. Having made just three appearances in 18 months for the Spurs first-team, Walker€™s 18 appearances for Aston Villa during a loan spell in the 10/11 season cast him firmly into the spotlight. The 20 year old right-back displayed confidence, composure and maturity far beyond his years and Villa supporters were championing the decision to take a chance on the youngster.

€œIt is the best move I€™ve made. It€™s not one of the best moves I€™ve made, it is the best move. The gaffer at the time, Harry Redknapp, phoned up and said I was going to Aston Villa - but I told him I wanted to stay at QPR. I was playing there every week, we were winning and going for the Championship title. I didn€™t think there could be anything better. But the manager said I had to go talk to Villa. So I went up there and their manager Gerard Houllier promised me he was going to play me in every game. I knew I had to go and prove Tottenham and myself that I could play week in week-out in the Premier League. Villa helped me massively. They kick-started my Premier League career. To be given my first step into the Premier League was something else and I have got a lot to thank Villa for.€ - Kyle Walker, October 2012.

Unfortunately for the Villains, Walker went straight back to White Hart Lane and subsequently played all but three Premier League games over the course of the next seasons, before injuries restricted him to just 26 appearances last term. Alan Hutton€™s career has remarkably risen from the dead at Villa Park and he has forced himself back into the first-team fold, but there is no denying that Walker would walk back into the starting XI if he returned to the club that unearthed him as a gem four years ago.