Ashley Westwood

LATEST NEWS

2012-13 review coming soon.

WHAT HE SAID

The training is unbelievable. That's the big thing I have noticed coming from Crewe. The training is so sharp and if you're not on it every day in training, you get found out.

I came into the team against Sunderland and then looked at the next three fixtures - Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal. I just thought 'yes, this is where I want to be and this is what football is all about.'

WHAT OTHERS SAID

Fabian Delph: Ashley is a terrific player technically and he is up there with the best in our team.

Paul Lambert: Ashley has got a great knack of not giving the ball away which is rare.

MINI PROFILE

A technically gifted footballer who moulds himself on Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick, Ashley Westwood joined Paul Lambert's new-look Villa side on deadline day in August 2012.

Westwood progressed through the academy at Crewe before signing his first professional contract in April 2008, but had to wait almost a year to make his debut for the Alex following a short loan spell with non-league Nantwich Town.

In March 2009, the then-19-year-old played nine minutes for Crewe in a 1-0 defeat to Millwall, totalling only 22 minutes of first-team action for the club that season.

In 2009-10 Westwood's career really took off as he scored six goals in 38 appearances, only two of which were from the substitutes bench.

The hard-working midfielder featured on 46 occasions the following season and he scored another six goals for Crewe, including a vital brace in a 3-3 draw against Torquay, as he was named as one of three Alex captains.

Westwood continued his good form in 2011-12 as he produced some match-winning displays in a promotion-winning Crewe side, scoring three goals in 47 appearances, which included both legs of the League Two play-off semi-final and a 2-0 win over Cheltenham in the final.

Following his appointment as captain in August, he had appeared in all of Crewe's games at the beginning of the 2012-13 season before signing for Villa.

Overall, Westwood played 138 times for the Railwaymen, scoring 15 goals.

INTERESTING FACT

Westwood showed his speedy side by setting the winning time in EA's Need For Speed Most Wanted challenge at Bodymoor, beating Darren Bent, Gary Gardner and Barry Bannan.