Tom Heaton has been speaking about his decision to leave Aston Villa and join Manchester United. Heaton has officially joined United after departing Villa upon the expiration of his contract at Villa Park. Martinez was superb in 2020-21, keeping 15 clean sheets as he proved that Smith was wise to move for him in an £18 million deal. Heaton, meanwhile, returned to the substitute’s bench on Boxing Day but could not oust Martinez. Now Heaton returns to United, where he spent eight years before leaving for Cardiff City in 2010, ready to back up Dean Henderson and David De Gea. And he has delivered his verdict on his time at Villa.
Tom Heaton said: “Yes, it was a strange time. I had a really good spell at Villa, a fantastic football club, in the first 20 games but unfortunately had a relatively serious injury. Coming back fit but then finding Emilio coming in and playing fantastically well, so opportunities were limited at the back-end of last season. That’s part of football. My contract runs out and I have a decision to make and weigh different things up. As soon as I heard of the interest from what feels like my club really, having spent so much time here, their results are the first I looked for, it was a no-brainer for me.”
