O’Neill seals £12m swoop for winger Downing
The Middlesbrough midfielder, who celebrates his 25th birthday next week, signed a four-year contract a day after the two clubs agreed terms.
A statement on Villa’s website read: “Villa have completed the signing of England international Stewart Downing.
“The four-year deal was finalised after the left-sided star agreed terms and passed a medical.’’
Downing, who is currently injured and may not be available to play until October at the earliest said: “As soon as I spoke to the manager at the training ground, I wanted to play for Villa and I wanted to play for him.
“He has great ambition and wants to build a good squad to take the club forward. I want to be part of that.
“As an outsider looking in, it was obvious that Villa were a club on the up. You can see a chairman and manager who want to build great things.
“They have done that over the past few seasons, particularly by finishing sixth last time around, which was great.
“But once you get here and see the stadium, the training ground, the people behind the scenes and the manager with his ambition and hopes for the future, it’s even better than you realised.”
Downing admitted it had been hard to leave the club he has supported all his life, but insisted he had little choice if he wanted to keep alive his dream of playing in next summer’s World Cup finals in South Africa. He said: “Leaving Boro feels strange because I have always been at the club. I supported them when I was young and I will always be a Boro fan.
“But I hope the fans will understand that I’m ambitious and want to win things. This move gives me a chance of that.
“Also, I definitely want to play at next year’s World Cup, so that’s my aim – to get back to full fitness, get back playing and get myself in the England team for the World Cup.’’
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