Yesterday, Sky Sports reported that Arsenal were now in the hunt for Stewart Downing, having lodged a bid of £18m. However, Aston Villa have now denied that such a bid has been made, saying there was no formal approach by the Gunners. And so what does Sky do? Ignore the fact that they've already said Arsenal made a bid, and instead say that Downing prefers Liverpool, despite "interest" elsewhere. Convenient, SSN.
But even without that interest from North London, Downing is on his way out. Liverpool want to return to winning ways, Stewie wants to win -- the fact that red really won't suit his complexion doesn't seem to be a factor in all this. Keep an eye out for the deal being finished this week.
At this point, I just want to throw my hands in the air and yell, "End! End!" Downing went from wanting out to talking about how much he loved the Villa to insisting he wasn't going to sign a new contract. We already had to deal with this with Ashley Young. I'm just ready to get these "stars" out the door and build a new team under Alex McLeish. It may take time for that team to develop, it may be an uninspiring season, but my god I'm so tired of the attitude that Villa just isn't enough.