Ex-Swans target Ashley Westwood is set to feature
ASHLEY Westwood hopes to start proving his Premier League pedigree this weekend — against the club who tried to give him a top-flight chance.
Westwood is tipped to play some part for Aston Villa when they host Swansea City on Saturday.
Should he feature, the 22-year-old will be making a Premier League debut against the side he might have joined.
Swansea had been monitoring Westwood at former club Crewe Alexandra and it is understood they were ready to pay around £1 million for the talented ball-playing midfielder.
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But Villa trumped Swansea just before the transfer deadline by stumping up £2 million to bring Westwood to England's second city.
Villa boss Paul Lambert raided the Football League regularly during the summer transfer window, also recruiting Middlesbrough left-back Joe Bennett, Sheffield United defender Matthew Lowton and Chesterfield striker Jordan Bowery.
And Westwood has revealed how the ex-Norwich manager has told him to believe he can perform at the highest level.
"There was one thing that stuck in my mind when I came to sign," he explained.
"The manager said: 'I don't want you to come here and be a shrinking violet, I want you to come here and play the way that you can and that you have been playing for Crewe'.
"He said to me: 'It's the same sized ball you're used to. It's the same size in League One as in the Premier League, so there's no difference'.
"That will always stick in my head. There are some massive players here and I'm going to learn from them.
"I want to be a big player and hopefully I can do that."
Lambert hopes his new recruits can lift a Villa squad who have made a slow start to the new season, taking only one point from their first three league games.
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