Fabian Delph vows to STAY at Aston Villa in spite of intense speculation linking him with Manchester City
- In a statement on Aston Villa's club website Fabian Delph has admitted that he wants to stay at the club
- The Villa captain had been linked with a move to Manchester City
- He did not fly out with the rest of the Villa squad for their training camp in Portugal on Thursday
- He has an £8million release clause in his contract but now seems intent on remaining at Villa Park
Fabian Delph has performed an incredible U-turn and will stay at Aston Villa instead of completing a proposed £8million move to Manchester City.
The England midfielder was due for a medical at City on Saturday morning but it was never completed and he has instead dramatically decided to continue as Villa captain.
Delph informed Villa of his intentions to leave on Friday, with former City player Micah Richards also admitting earlier this week that Delph had asked him about heading to the north west.
Aston Villa captain Fabian Delph was a target for City and he has an £8million release clause in his contract
Delph was pictured in training at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground earlier this week
The club removed a banner picture including Delph modelling the new kit and his armband from their official Twitter feed. His team-mates believed he was going.
Delph was subject to criticism by Villa fans after Sportsmail broke the news of his impending departure, having spoken about loyalty when signing a new four-year deal in January.
He is understood to have spoken with chief executive Tom Fox over the phone and informed the American of the unforeseen change of circumstances.
In a statement released on the Villa website the 25-year-old said: ‘I'm aware there has been intense media speculation surrounding my future in the last 24 hours and I want to set the record straight.
‘I'm not leaving. I'm staying at the football club and I can't wait for the start of the season and captaining this great football club.’
Delph has no plans to join up with Villa’s pre-season tour in Portugal as his wife Natalie is expecting their second child.
Micah Richards (left) and Delph taking part in Aston Villa's pre-season training on Monday
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