Shock as Jagielka Signs For Villa!
Phil Jagielka who was surplus to requirements at Everton has sensationally signed for Villa for £10.25m.
Jagielka was not impressed at the manner Roberto Martinez was fired and made his feelings known. As soon as he was transfer listed Sir Alex went into Randy Lerners office and asked for extra funding to buy the strong centre back. Lerner said yes and Aston Villa acted quicker than anyone else to make sure they got there man. Sir Alex said he is only moving to Villa because he just wanted out of Everton.
Who Is Phil Jagielka
Jagielka was born in Sale, Greater Manchester, and played for Holy Family Football Club, a Sunday team affiliated with, although not directly linked to, the school of the same name, from the ages of eight to eleven. He played as a right winger, as he possessed great pace, and even played in games against boys of the school year older than he. However, he first impressed youth scouts whilst playing for his local team Hale Barns United in Altrincham. He predominantly played midfield during his time with the club. He also played for his school team, Moorlands Junior School, playing any position including in goal and with boys 2 school years above him. He spent time training with clubs such as Stoke City, Everton and Manchester City, before joining Sheffield United in 1998 at 15 years of age.
Club Career
Sheffield United
Jagielka made his way through the youth ranks at Sheffield United before making his first team debut on 5 May 2000 against Swindon Town in the final League match of the 1999–2000 season, whilst still a trainee. He was rewarded with a professional contract the following day[citation needed] and having progressed well at the start of the following season, he signed a three-year deal with the club in January 2001.
He established himself in the Sheffield United first-team in the 2002–03 season and started to attract the attention of other clubs, including Leeds United, who were linked with a £6m joint bid for Jagielka and United team mate Michael Brown, but Sheffield United said they would resist any attempts to sign the players.
Jagielka stated in April 2005 he was happy to stay at United, despite several Premier League clubs being interested in signing him. United manager Neil Warnock told West Ham United in June 2005 that Jagielka would not be sold, and in July Wigan Athletic made a £4m bid for Jagielka, after which United upped their valuation of him. By November, Jagielka had been linked with a £4m move to Bolton Wanderers, but United manager Neil Warnock said there had been no contact from Bolton.
Jagielka signed a new three-year deal with United in August 2006. He played as team captain in Chris Morgan's absence.[citation needed] Jagielka gave United their first Premiership victory since April 1994 when he hit a 91st minute half-volley against Middlesbrough for a 2–1 win in September 2006. Despite being recognised as one of United's key players, chairman Kevin McCabe admitted that Jagielka could be sold if the price was high enough. In a home match against Arsenal on 30 December 2006, due to a thigh injury to starting goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and with his side 1–0 up, Jagielka was forced to play in goal for the remainder of the match. Arsenal were kept at bay for the remaining thirty-four minutes and Jagielka's late save from Robin van Persie secured the 1–0 victory. His ability to deputise in goal meant that Neil Warnock was able to – and usually did – do without a substitute goalkeeper on the bench in order to give himself more tactical options (League rules then limited the number of substitutes to 5).
By the end of the 2006–07 season, he had made 133 consecutive league appearances for United,[15] including every league match in the 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons and every minute of the 2006–07 season. When Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2006–07 season, Jagielka was linked with moves away from United and goalkeeper Paddy Kenny said he believed it was time Jagielka moved on. New United boss Bryan Robson urged Jagielka to wait for the outcome of the club's relegation arbitration hearing before deciding to leave the club.
Everton
Jagielka playing for Everton in 2008
Jagielka eventually signed for Everton on 4 July 2007, in a deal worth £4 million on a five-year contract, the highest amount ever paid for a Sheffield United player. He made his home debut at Goodison Park on 31 July 2007 as a second half substitute in a pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen, replacing Joseph Yobo in central defence. After a slow start to his Everton career, Jagielka developed into an important member of the first team. He scored his first Everton goal in the UEFA Cup against AZ Alkmaar. He scored an own goal against Wigan Athletic, although Everton won 2–1. He put in a succession of man of the match performances in the following games, against Tottenham, Brann and Manchester City. He scored his first league goal for Everton against Reading on 9 February 2008.
Jagielka started the 2008–09 season as first-choice centre-back, playing every minute of every league game until being injured in a 2–1 home defeat to Manchester City.[citation needed] He won Player of the Month for February and won Everton's fans and club player of the season.[citation needed] Jagielka scored the winning penalty for Everton in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final of the FA Cup against Manchester United, but he was claimed to have fouled Danny Welbeck after 68 minutes, with many claiming it to be a Penalty, which the referee did not award Soon afterwards he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing against Manchester City, and as a consequence missed the 2009 FA Cup Final.
After missing the end of the 2008–09 season and more than half of 2009–10, Jagielka played his first senior fixture since the cruciate ligament injury in an away game against Sporting C.P. in the UEFA Europa League in February 2010, coming on as a substitute for an injured Philippe Senderos.
Phil has now got a move to Aston villa to look forward too.
International career
Jagielka is a former member of the England under-21 team, and scored in a 2–0 victory over Slovakia at the Stadium of Light in June 2003.
On 10 May 2007, Jagielka was named in the England squad for the first time, to play a 'B' international against Albania. Starting on the bench, he replaced future Everton team mate, Phil Neville at right back at the beginning of the second half. On 11 May 2008, Jagielka was named in the senior England squad for the first time for the friendlies with United States and Trinidad and Tobago. He subsequently expressed his delight at the call up and publicly thanked everyone at Everton for their help. On 1 June 2008, Jagielka got his first international cap for the senior team against Trinidad and Tobago after being brought on as a substitute.
Jagielka was once again named in the England squad for the friendly match against European champions Spain, 11 February 2009, and subsequently played for the first 45 minutes, after an impressive string of performances at club level publicly praised by manager David Moyes after the FA Cup fourth round replay tie between Everton and Liverpool.
Jagielka received his fourth cap when he played in England's first post World Cup 2010 friendly against Hungary on 11 August 2010 at Wembley Stadium where he scored an unfortunate own goal in a 2–1 win.
On 3 September 2010, Jagielka made his first competitive start, and played for the entirety of the match in a 4–0 win over Bulgaria. He was said to have "read the game brilliantly on a night when he proved his credentials".
He has been called up to the England squad once again for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley Stadium on 12 October. He was called up again for the Euro 2012 qualifier and Friendly against Wales national football team and Ghana national football team on 26 March and came on in the 88th minute for Scott Parker. On 12 November, he started as centre-half in a friendly against Spain and gave an exceptional performance as England ground their way to a 1–0 win.
Jagielka was originally placed on the standby list for England's Euro 2012 squad, and played the full match in a pre-tournament warm-up game against Norway, which England won 1–0. However, on 28 May 2012, Jagielka was added to the main squad after Gareth Barry was ruled out of the tournament with an abdominal injury. Jagielka did not feature in any of England's four matches during the tournament.
In August 2012, Jagielka scored his first goal for England, a diving header during a 2–1 friendly victory over Italy in Bern, Switzerland.