Charles N'Zogbia Joins Aston Villa From Wigan

Aston Villa are beginning to reverse the trend. Having lost Ashley Young, Stewart Downing and goalkeeper Brad Friedel in the early stages of the summer, Alex McLeish's side has now made two major signings to bolster the starting lineup. The first was Shay Given, who'll take over between the nets, and now the club has pulled off a real coup in acquiring Wigan Athletic wideman Charles N'Zogbia for £9.5M. N'Zogbia will step in for Downing on Villa's left, which leaves England under-21 international Marc Albrighton in line to get the bulk of starts on the opposite flank.

Although we don't know the personal terms N'Zogbia and the club will eventually agree to, it's hard to contest that turning Stewart Downing into Charles N'Zogbia and £10.5M doesn't represent a fantastic bit of business on Alex McLeish's part. There's really nothing to separate the two, and it's not difficult to paint a picture in which N'Zogbia's actually the superior player. If Villa can acquire another midfielder at this point, they may be poised to surprise in the 2011/12 season.

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