Barry backs Villa starlets to impress Capello

GARETH BARRY believes new England coach Fabio Capello could become a regular visitor to Aston Villa given the depth of young homegrown talent at the midlands club.

Capello will watch his first live match since replacing Steve McClaren when he takes in Villa’s home FA Cup third-round clash with Manchester United.

Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor is expected to come under the scrutiny of the Italian who names his squad for the friendly international against Switzerland on February 6 at the end of the month.

But there are other candidates such as Ashley Young, Scott Carson, Nigel Reo-Coker and Barry himself who will be looking to catch Capello’s eye in the televised encounter on Saturday evening.

Villa skipper Barry said: “At the moment, Aston Villa is a great option for the England manager.

“There were three of us involved (Barry, Carson, Young) in the last squad against Croatia and you can probably count another five that see themselves hopeful of trying to impress the England manager.

“It is good for the club there are so many English players there with a lot of ability.”