By 
Rather than just being a symbol of hard-work bringing what Conor deserves, it’s a symbol of more than that.
Words by Regan Foy | @FindFoy
________
With the news that Conor Hourihane has extended his stay at Aston Villa today, there’s importance behind the awarding of a new contract for Aston Villa’s Irish midfielder.
Hourihane still had a year remaining on the contract that he had signed in 2017 under Steve Bruce, but the club and Dean Smith have made the decision to keep him at Aston Villa for the foreseeable future.
The 28-year-old is thought to have signed a three year deal, however nothing has been confirmed by the club.
There’s a symbolic importance the contract of Conor Hourihane, however.
With the impending arrival of Manchester City’s Douglas Luiz in the coming days, Hourihane may find his game time limited across the season and could be used as more of a utility option if Luiz performs as he is expected to.
The new contract for Hourihane, to start with, keeps him sweet – for this season at least. He’ll have received a wage increase, and there will have been promises in regards to how much playing time that he will receive across the season. It will have been one of the first questions asked by both him and his agent, and he wouldn’t have signed otherwise.
This stops Hourihane from becoming unsettled at the club should Luiz keep him out of the squad – which would be an issue due to his popularity at the club.
Moreover, it shows other players at the club that there are rewards to be taken for the players who helped us get to this position. John McGinn made a comment at the Play-Off final stating that he hoped there would not be too many changes at the club throughout the summer – but the changes that have happened and are rumoured to be happening – are more than necessary.
And, in the unfortunate event of relegation, we’ve had the opportunity to fine-tune the contract so that it could include relevant clauses that don’t come and bite us in the backside.
With new signings and new contracts aplenty this summer it seems, it’s looking like Aston Villa are finally in the perfect hands for the job of resurrecting a fallen giant.
Conor,, vastly underrated and unappreciated by some, is fully deserving of his new deal, and will no doubt play a very important role for us this season, as we battle to establish ourselves once again as an established premier league club.
An astute piece of business by Dean Smith and the Villa Park hierarchy to ensure that Conor remains a Villan, through no doubt what will be an extremely challenging few seasons for the club as we ensure we land on our feet, prosper and thrive.