Top Stories

Lichaj, Guzan among players on Aston Villa roster for U.S. tour

Eric Lichaj (Getty Images)

Aston Villa have announced their traveling roster for their upcoming U.S. tour, and it includes most of their key players as well as the two U.S. men's national team players.

Eric Lichaj and recently re-signed Brad Guzan are just two of the players on Aston Villa's 25-man roster for their tour of the United States, which starts off with a friendly match against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday and then has matches against the Chicago Fire and Portland Timbers on July 21 and 24, respectively.

Others included in the roster are forwards Gabriel Agbonlahor and Darren Bent, midfielder Stephen Ireland and goalkeeper Shay Given.

Here is the full roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Shay Given, Brad Guzan, Andy Marshall

DEFENDERS (8): Nathan Baker, Ciaran Clark, James Collins, Richard Dunne, Eric Lichaj, Matt Lowton, Enda Stevens, Stephen Warnock

MIDFIELDERS (10): Barry Bannan, Samir Carruthers, Fabian Delph, Karim El Ahmadi, Gary Gardner, Chris Herd, Brett Holman, Stephen Ireland, Daniel Johnson, Charles N’Zogbia

FORWARDS (4): Darren Bent, Gabby Agbonlahor, Nathan Delfouneso, Andi Weimann

What do you think of Aston Villa's traveling roster for their upcoming tour? Impressed? Hoping to see Lichaj and Guzan in action?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It looks like Lambert will give him a shot at backing up Lowton at RB. He might beat out Warnock for left back but I don’t think Lambert is finished acquiring new players yet, so we will see.

    Lichaj is capable of playing anywhere along the back line or anywhere in midfield. At this point it seems he will be Villa’s version of a Swiss Army knife utility guy , their version of John O’Shea or Darren Fletcher.

    Reply
  2. I think he played at both LB and RB during that 9 game run at the end of last season but I am not sure.

    What is happening in pre-season is Lowton is starting the games at RB and Lichaj comes in at RB in the second half.

    It looks like Lichaj will be backup at both positions depending on how preseason goes and whether or not Hutton and Warnock stick around.

    Lambert may also not be done bringing in new players.

    Reply
  3. We fans may need to help Guzan out. Someone call Jeff Jeff Gillooly and get him a bat and a hotel room on the same floor as Given’s.

    Reply
  4. The British papers indicate Lowton was signed to compete with Hutton for the right back spot.

    In other articles I ‘ve read Lambert, the new manager says he signed Lowton because he felt the right back position needed some shoring up. No mention was made of Lichaj starting. As you can tell from this article, Lambert probably did not sign Lowton to be a back up.

    “Matthew Lowton today vowed to provide Villa right-back Alan Hutton with a stern challenge for a first-team place during pre-season.

    The 23-year-old defender became manager Paul Lambert’s third signing when he completed a £3m switch from Sheffield United a week ago and will be given a chance to impress in Villa’s forthcoming friendlies.

    Hutton came in for some criticism last season and Lowton admitted he will relish the chance to put the Scotland international under pressure.

    “Alan Hutton has played a lot of games at a high standard, so it’s going to be a great challenge for me, but it’s something that you need,” said Lowton.

    “You can’t give 90 per cent, you’ve got to be there every time in training and matches. I’ll be willing to take it all the way and if I do get a chance I’ve got to make sure I stay in the team.”

    Lowton also revealed that a number of other clubs had been keen to sign him but Lambert’s desire to bring him to Villa Park helped persuade him to join.

    He added: “We knew there was interest from a few other clubs, but Villa acted first. I was flattered by the interest and how quickly they came in and wanted to get things done.”

    See also:

    Read more: http://www.expressandstar.com/sport/aston-villa-fc/2012/07/14/matthew-lowton-gunning-for-aston-villa-first-team-slot/#ixzz20pky241m

    Reply
  5. While looking at Guzan news earlier, I saw Villa fans on Twitter celebrating that Hutton was left behind and is seemingly out of Lambert’s plans. But does anybody know if this Matt Lowton guy was signed as competition or as a backup to Lichaj?

    I’m sure Guzan will see minutes in the US tour, I just hope it continues. Given looked past it and Villa have to re-build for 3-5 years from now.

    Reply

Leave a Comment