Micah Richards signs for Villa

After a couple of weeks of speculation, Micah Richards has finally signed with Aston Villa on a free transfer from Manchester City.

This evening, Aston Villa have confirmed the news that we have been waiting for, Micah Richards is officially an Aston Villa player. Richards has signed a four year deal with the club, and is expected to earn £65k a week as a Villa player.

The signing of Richards is a positive start to Villa's summer dealings, especially when you consider that West Ham, Newcastle and Sunderland were all thought to be interested in the Manchester City youth graduate. A natural right back, Richards can also play as a centre half, and in a Villa back line that is often plagued by injury, versatility is a useful attribute to have.

Whilst this deal initially looked set to be completed last week, there was always that little bit of doubt that something might go wrong, as days passed without any updates. With this in mind, it's a relief to have some good news around the club, and this signing is definitely good news. Whilst Richards isn't quite as good as the initial hype from his time at Manchester City, he is a definite upgrade on the right backs currently at the club. It does however suggest that this is the end of Matthew Lowton's Aston Villa career, with Burnley set to sign him as a replacement for Tottenham bound Kieran Trippier.

Birmingham born, it's good to see Micah Richards, a local lad, come home, and it's a good start for Villa's summer dealings. Long may it continue.