THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIRMINGHAM, England — James Milner has returned to Aston Villa after signing a four-year deal with the club Friday to complete his move from Newcastle.
Milner transferred for a reported 10 million pounds (US$18.3 million) after passing a medical at Villa’s training ground on Thursday.
“James has got a great spirit about him and I definitely think his best years are in front of him,” Villa manager Martin O’Neill said. “It was disappointing two years ago not to sign him when we thought the deal was done and dusted but it is nice to have got it all sorted this time.”
The 22-year-old midfielder scored for Newcastle in a 3-2 win over Coventry in the League Cup on Tuesday, but the club said Wednesday that Milner had handed in a transfer request and that it had reluctantly agreed to let him leave.
“It’s not ideal in the short term, but Villa are the buying club and they have paid a lot of money for him,” Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan said, and indicated the money would be used in the transfer market before the window closes at midnight Monday.
“At the end of the day it was my decision to sell him,” he said. “We got an offer which I felt was good value. It might not look a positive move to fans at the moment, but what will happen in the next two to three days will be positive. I would not have sold him if it did not move the club forward.”
Milner made his Premier League debut for Leeds when he was 16 and broke Wayne Rooney’s record as the league’s youngest scorer with a goal against Sunderland, aged 16 years and 357 days.
Leeds was relegated in 2004 and Milner joined Newcastle, but was sent to Aston Villa on loan for the 2005-06 season.
Milner has made six appearances for the England under-21 side.