Aston Villa 2017-18 player preview: Chris Samba

Chris Samba isn’t someone who should be playing for Aston Villa in 2017, because he’s the type of person my dad spent £20 million on in Football Manager 2011 at midnight because he was drunk and didn’t want to get sacked.

To say he hasn’t earned his place would be a lie. Chris Samba wanted to play Villa, and wanted to play football so much he embarked on a six month period of trial football with the club.

Villa fans got their first view of the player during the friendly with Telford - where his defensive abilities shut Telford down, but he showed a surprising amount of talent on the ball and playing the ball - including a few key dribbles down the centre. He’s slow as molasses, but he’s got a header like a howitzer cannon, reads the ball well and makes a difference. He has every chance of being a success for Villa.