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From being frozen out under Paul Lambert to being one of the first names on the team sheet in recent seasons, Alan Hutton has never had it easy at Aston Villa, and while Villa have been trapped in the Championship, the right back has arguably been one of the stand-out performers. He has received a lot of acclaim over the last 18 months, has been nicknamed ’The Scottish Cafu’ and has two songs dedicated to him while most players are lucky to have one, so this cult-hero figure is clearly loved by the majority at Villa, including the manager. The discussion of Hutton’s contract has been floating around for some time now, but with the serious financial restrictions that Villa now face, is Hutton best off moving on to a new club? Or staying at Villa, just with significantly less personal income?
Does Alan Hutton Deserve a New Contract?
There has always been a bit of doubt about Hutton’s defensive awareness, but his tenacity and passion tends to make up for this for the fans. Despite the fact he is loved at Villa however, it may be best for Hutton personally to move on due to the financial damage at Villa, but there is no club like Aston Villa in the Championship, and realistically that’s the highest level where anyone will want to buy him. It is a tricky situation to dissect, as neither option seems too appealing at face value, but as decent clubs like Sheffield Wednesday have shown interest, Hutton may be seriously tempted to move on rather than take what you would expect to be a pretty drastic pay-cut to stay with the Villans.
While staying at Villa may seem easier for Hutton, as he is comfortable and does get regular football, moving to another club such as the Owls surely wouldn’t lessen his playing time, and would presumably not cut his wages to the same extent that they would be at Villa Park. Hutton has been at Villa for a long time now, signing in the Summer of 2011, and has worked incredibly hard to get to where he currently is, but in what is now going to be a very difficult period for the club financially, it may be best for everyone if he moves on. Villa have full-backs aplenty so we wouldn’t be running short without him, with Bree, Taylor, Elmohamady, De Laet and even young Mitch Clark coming up through the ranks, so Hutton isn’t desperately needed, despite the fact that he played 32 times in the season just gone.
Without Terry ordering him around Hutton won’t be the same defender anyway, so it wouldn’t be that big of a loss if we were to release him, especially considering the fact that this season will have increased his potential suitors. Alan Hutton probably would take a pay-cut to stay at Villa, as he seems to genuinely love the club and at this stage in his career has probably worked up enough money to not need to worry about it, but whether the club can give him the game time he wants is another question.
With an abundance of exciting youth players coming through the ranks, Alan Hutton may be jeopardising their careers, and while he may be happy to lose some money to keep playing for Villa, he won’t be such an asset to the club next year and in this important time for the club, it may just be best to say goodbye to the Scottish Cafu.
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Written by Matt Blogg (@Blogg_Matt) // Follow us on Twitter (@claretandview)
