Clever Business By Villa To Lure Jenas & Hutton

Do not let a lack of first-team action fool you, Aston Villa have signed two very astute professionals in Jermaine Jenas and Alan Hutton.

Although both have seen their first-team prospects at Tottenham Hotspur diminish in the last 18 months, they still possess a wealth of ability between them.

Jenas has been around for a very long time in the Premier League. It was the late great Sir Bobby Robson who took up him to Tyneside with Newcastle United and turned him into an athletic, agile midfield creator who went on to become PFA Young Player of the Year in 2003 and feature in the UEFA Champions League. It was at St James` Park where he made his name before moving down south to London with Spurs for £7m in 2005.

He has the capability to be an authoritarian in the middle of the park by using his intelligence rather than his physical presence. He is very nimble on the ball and is technically superb, capable of providing defence splitting passes to his peers.

Although his career at Spurs has been relatively successful, picking up a League Cup winners medal and figuring regularly in Europe, he has gone slightly stale at White Hart Lane in the last twelve months and a move away may just rejuvenate him. He has all the necessary attributes to stamp a claim at Villa Park and cement one of the two central midfield spots.

Alan Hutton on the other hand is also a very shrewd signing by manager Alex McLeish. Both have grown fond of one another as Hutton played under Big Eck with Rangers and internationally with Scotland. No doubt that was a major factor in the defender`s decision to come and play his trade in the Midlands.

His performances in the SPL once had Manchester United sniffing around but it was Tottenham who paid the necessary money to lure him from Ibrox in January 2008.

He has showed glimpses of what he can do in North-London but has seen his first-team prospects hampered by Vedran Corluka who has cemented his place in the team. Ironically, Kyle Walker who was on loan at Villa from Spurs last season looks set to break into Harry Redknapp`s setup in the right-back berth – subsequently pushing Hutton further down the pecking order.

Nevertheless, he is a fantastic full-back. He is sharp on the ball and relishes the opportunity to get into the attacking sense down the flank. He is good with his distribution and can read the game both in attacking and defensive quarters. It must also be mentioned that at only 26 years of age, the best is yet to come.

If McLeish can get Jenas back to the form he shown not too long ago and get the best out of Hutton, then the club will reap the benefits.

This could turn out to be a masterstroke by the manager!