Key duo set for new long-term contracts

Aston Villa look set to sign Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar to long-term contracts, assuring that two of the club's most important players are here to stay for a while. Both were set to see their current contracts expire next summer, and there has been worried that either could be tapped up by a larger club. It seems as if Randy Lerner is cognizant of the fact that his team looks much more attractive to potential buyers if its best players are slotted to be around for a while. 

Delph is coming off of his best season yet, and was named the club's player of the year yesterday. He has improved from a player with oodles of potential to a solid box-to-box mid who garnered serious consideration for this summer's England squad in the World Cup. 

Vlaar has put in two very solid years and was the anchor of a Villa defense that was significantly improved over that of last year. He will be representing the Netherlands in Brazil this summer, and it would be great to get him re-signed before the rest of the world have the chance to see what we've got. 

It's good to see that, even though he is selling the club, Lerner isn't being entirely blind to the needs of Aston Villa. He is expected to give more details about his summer plans to Paul Lambert and Paul Faulkner in a meeting later this week.