I was approached by Aston Villa to sign, but I was unable to complete one final need.

Troy Deeney has acknowledged that, if he could have taken a piece of Birmingham City with him, he may have played for bitter rivals Aston Villa.

 

Although the former Blues striker is a devoted supporter of his former team, he told talkSPORT he could have played for both teams in the Second City derby.

The rivalry between the West Midland teams is greater than that between Arsenal and Tottenham, according to Deeney on White & Jordan.

 

In the same appearance, he did, however, acknowledge that he might have played for both teams despite previously acknowledging that, while at Watford in January 2020, he attempted to fight Villa players after a 2-1 loss.

 

Deeney was raised six miles from St Andrew’s, despite being born in Birmingham, and he even had the club’s crest permanently inked on his leg.

 

Jim White questioned the 35-year-old about if he would have ever worn a Villa shirt, and he replied, “I had an opportunity to, yeah.”

 

“My friends let me know it wouldn’t be a good idea, and secondly they wanted me to remove my Birmingham City tattoo as well.”

 

He then on: “That was part of the conversation, the club [Aston Villa] wanted me to.”