Premiership: Angel 'worth more than £9.5m'

Aston Villa manager John Gregory believes Juan Pablo Angel has more than justified his club record £9.5m (€15.4m) price tag as the striker celebrated his first anniversary since moving from River Plate.

The Colombian international struggled to make any sort of impact in the second half of last season and both his credentials and Gregory’s judgement were widely questioned.

But Gregory never lost faith in Angel and that has been more than repaid during the current campaign, which has so far yielded 13 goals including last Saturday’s winner against Derby County.

Now he will be looking to add to that tally as Villa strive to continue their push for a European place against Charlton Athletic in Monday’s televised clash at The Valley.

Gregory said: ‘‘He’s certainly paid his money back. He’s well in credit now in my opinion.

‘‘Not that we would consider selling him, but if I put my business head on for a moment then he’s up there with the best of them with a big price on his head.

‘‘I was a little disappointed that it took so long for the player I had seen to settle in and come to the fore.

‘‘But he had to get used to a different kind of football, a different kind of mentality, a different type of culture. He had a lot to deal with.

‘‘I questioned myself as to whether or not he would be able to push himself through what he came through.

‘‘But he should take a lot of credit for really pushing himself to succeed and I think he had his best 90 minutes for the club against Derby last Saturday.

‘‘I thought he looked like the complete player we had fetched over from Argentina.

‘‘I’ve never lost faith and put my arm around him a couple of times to reassure him and say ‘I know you’re a good player, just keep working at it’ and his abilities are being seen this season.’’

Gregory has been frustrated with being unable to add to his squad because of the club’s spending policy but insists there is no rift with chairman Doug Ellis and that Villa are the envy of many clubs.

He said: ‘‘I speak to other managers in the Premiership who can’t understand what all the fuss is about and say ‘can we swap places with you?’

‘‘It’s no exaggeration to say they would love to swap and be in or around the top six in the Premiership with money in the bank and everything that has got Aston Villa written on it is paid for.’’

Midfielder Ian Taylor is doubtful for the trip to The Valley because of a slight calf tear suffered against the Rams.

Defender Ozalan Alpay also suffered a setback in training after being expected to return from an ankle injury although he has not been totally ruled out of Monday’s clash.

But Moroccan duo Moustapha Hadji and Hassan Kachloul are fully fit again to give Gregory competition in midfield, where shortage of numbers mean Lee Hendrie and George Boateng have been over-worked.