OK, it’s finally a done deal, full details to follow, but it’s official, Stephen Ireland is an Aston Villa player, James Milner is a Man City player.

Going the other way, Stephen Ireland has also completed his transfer from City to Villa. Ireland spent eight years at City, having come through the ranks as a teenager. He made 142 starts in that time, scoring 23 goals. His best season in a City shirt came in 2008/09, when he was named as the Club’s Player of the Year.

Both transfers were completed this afternoon, with Milner taking up the squad number seven following Ireland’s departure. City manager Roberto Mancini was delighted to finally seal the capture of Milner.

On Milner, Mancini had this to say:-

Roberto Mancini
I am very happy to have James with us, everybody knows we have admired him for some time.

He is an excellent midfielder, who can play in a number of positions. This is important for the team, and I am looking forward to seeing him play for us. We have a very strong squad, and this signing is a very important one for us.

James he is already a very good player, who has proved he can play at the very top level. But he is also young and a good character, I think he can also improve and be a great player for Manchester City for a long time.

Welcome to the Villa, Stephen, I look forward to seeing you in claret and blue.

Ireland joins on a four year contract and it’s yet to be confirmed, but I would assume that he will take Milner’s vacated number 8. James has taken Ireland’s #7 at City.

James Milner vs Stephen Ireland Statistics »

They’re cooking on gas up in Manchester apparently, Milner already has a profile page on their website.  And video up on Facebook of him touring the facilities.

An official announcement has now been made by Aston Villa.

Kevin MacDonald
This is a great signing for the football club Stephen is an outstanding young talent who will complement the talented players we already have here and we’re looking forward very much to working with him.

If you watched the video in Part II of the stats post, you’ll be delighted to learn that Ireland has described Villa as a “family club”:-

Stephen Ireland
For me, my number one target is to work hard for my team-mates, show them what I can bring to the table, show them they can rely on me and that I am going to work hard for them week in, week out. When I get my chance to get on the ball, hopefully I’ll shine as well.

I am really excited. I have only been here a day but I know what it is about already. It is a family club, I’ve seen a lot of happy faces here and a lot of friendly faces, so I am really excited for the future here.

I am looking forward to building up a relationship with the fans and my new team-mates. It is exciting for me to have a new challenge, move here and get settled.