Sherwood starts negotiations for new Vlaar contract

Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar will be a free agent after the next two games, but Villa manager Tim Sherwood is hoping that the time he will spend with Vlaar is for longer than just the next few weeks.

Regardless of his recent dip in form, notably his horrible back-pass against Southampton and his last-minute red card against Stoke, Vlaar has shown the ability to truly be a world class defender - at this summer's World Cup, he excelled while shutting down some of the planet's most potent attacking options. Recently losing his role as captain to Fabian Delph, Vlaar has also shown considerable leadership abilities in his stay so far at Aston Villa.

Having a player like Vlaar be willing to stay long term at a club like Aston Villa is a minor miracle, but hopefully Christian Benteke will see how Vlaar's performances last year with Villa earned him a spot in the Dutch World Cup squad where he excelled and achieved international renown, and think that he will able to do the same leading into Euro 2016, something Tim Sherwood has already spoken about.

Injury epidemic's are an impending doom for Villa, and while Vlaar is often at the forefront of the injury list, when he is healthy, he can be a true stalwart in defense.

Vlaar has been linked heavily to re-unite with Dutch manager Louis van Gaal at Manchester United, and it remains to be seen whether or not they will try and persuade Vlaar to take his talents to the red side of Manchester this fall.

Do you want to see Vlaar back next year, and if so, do you think Sherwood will be able to convince the big Dutchman to do so? Let us know in the comments!