Fabian Delph

LATEST NEWS

2012-13 review coming soon.

WHAT HE SAID

The fans are really important to Aston Villa. They're a big part of our identity as a football club. The home fans are magnificent and the away fans are absolutely terrific, unbelievable really.

I feel good. I feel stronger than I have in the past.

It has been up and down for me since I have joined but I've stayed positive and I think I have got stronger mentally.

WHAT OTHERS SAID

Stan Petrov: I think he's unique because he's got that aggression about his game. He's very little but he's very aggressive. He wants to win every single battle, even in training, even in the gym. He's exceptional - you need to see the drive this boy has got.

MINI PROFILE

Fabian Delph is looking to make a fresh start in 2012-13 and put several injury-plagued seasons behind him.

The Bradford-born midfielder received a boost from new manager Paul Lambert in pre-season when he was named captain for the games against Chicago Fire and Peterborough United.

It was a tremendous boost for the tenacious central midfielder, whose claret and blue career has been stop-start since his arrival from Leeds United in 2009.

Delph, who made his debut for Leeds as a 16-year-old, quickly became one of English football's brightest young talents after some sterling performances for his boyhood team.

His displays earned him the League One Young Player of the Year award in 2008-09, as well as the Leeds Players' Player of the Season.

Villa came calling that summer and, after a terrific debut in a pre-season victory over Fiorentina, Delph was thrown into the thick of the Barclays Premier League action for the opening day clash against Wigan.

His first goal for Villa came in the FA Cup fourth round victory over Brighton at Villa Park.

But the 2009-10 campaign ended prematurely for Delph when he suffered a serious knee injury in training in April 2010.

He returned to action in February 2011 as a make-shift left-back in a top-flight triumph over Blackburn.

In the penultimate game of the season, Delph produced one of his finest displays in a Villa shirt as the boys in claret and blue earned a brilliant 2-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates.

The 2011-12 campaign proved to be a frustrating one for the England U21 international.

In January, he rejoined Leeds on loan but his temporary stint at the Elland Road club was cut short when he suffered an ankle injury.

INTERESTING FACT

Fabian Delph doesn't like ghosts! He visited the New Hall Hotel when he signed for Villa but when Stan Petrov mentioned it was haunted, he switched to the city centre.