Villa show their faith in Agbonlahor
Friday, August 15, 2008
Article summary
England Under-21 striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has signed a new four-year contract at Aston Villa FC the day after scoring in their 4-1 victory at FH Hafnarfjördur.
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New deal
The 21-year-old, who scored last night as Villa won 4-1 at FH Hafnarfjördur in the first leg of their UEFA Cup second qualifying round, was previously under contract until 2011 but his new arrangement extends his terms for a further 12 months. The announcement comes comes one day after fellow forward John Carew agreed a three-season deal, with their Premier League campaign commencing on Sunday at home to Manchester City FC.
First-team fixture
On Villa's books since he was eleven, Agbonlohar had loan spells at Watford FC and Sheffield Wednesday FC before making his Premier League debut in March 2006, scoring at Everton FC. He has been a first-team fixture ever since, making 94 appearances and scoring 23 goals. Twice part of Fabio Capello's senior England squads, Agbonlahor is currently an important part of Stuart Pearce's side bidding to qualify for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with two goals in the current campaign. He is in the selection to meet Portugal at Wembley on 5 September with a play-off place the reward for victory.
