Irish midfielder Conor Hourihane could be set to more than quadruple his wages as Championship clubs battle for his signature, writes Stephen Barry.
Aston Villa may be 12th in the table, four places below Hourihane’s Barnsley, but the Birmingham outfit are ready to splash the cash to sign the Corkman.
Villa, and 6th-place Sheffield Wednesday, are both reported to have submitted £1.25million (€1.43m) bids for Hourihane, who is out of contract in the summer, but Villa have offered a significant weekly wage increase to sweeten the deal.
88 minutes on the clock; @ConorHourihane takes aim for @bfc_official...
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) January 4, 2017
BOOM! 💥
Here's our #GoalOfTheDay from the first matchday of 2017. pic.twitter.com/s8t4ItO2o9
According to The Sun, their manager Steve Bruce has agreed a £28,000-a-week (€32,000) contract with Hourihane, who was part of the Sunderland academy during Bruce’s time in the north-east.
The news comes a day after the UEFA European Club Footballing Landscape report showed that Villa had the 20th highest wage bill in the world, as of 2015.
Villa have the 20th highest wage bill in Europe, according to UEFA pic.twitter.com/i0AxSTNzsX
— Aston Villa Review (@VillaReview) January 12, 2017
Hourihane left Sunderland for Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town in 2010, but didn’t make an appearance before moving to Plymouth Argyle. After 142 games in three years with the Home Park side, Barnsley spent €250,000 on Hourihane in June 2014.
He captained the club to two trophies in 2016, winning the Football League Trophy at Wembley before returning to secure victory in the League One play-off final.
The 25-year-old marked his Championship debut with a goal and was awarded Player of the Month for August. His 11 assists this season are the most across the top four divisions in England.
HONOURS LIST - Most assists in 2016 (top 4 tiers)
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) December 31, 2016
19 - @ConorHourihane 👏🔥⚽️
18 - @MarcusMaddison7
15 - @nickyadams10 & D Payet
14 - G Carey pic.twitter.com/73GhUdbGYo
He was called up to the Ireland squad for the first time by Martin O’Neill in September.
Bruce is also hoping to sign Robbie Brady, who has been valued at £13million (€15m) by Norwich City.
He said: “I’ve signed Robbie. I took him on loan from Man United to Hull, signed him and really liked him.
“We paid £2.5million back in the day. He’d be a little bit more that that now. If he became available now we might be interested.”
