LONDON — When the transfer window shuts at the end of Monday in Europe, the most meaningful story might well be the player who decided he was happy to remain loyal and stay with the club he was currently at.
That player is Aston Villa’s Fabian Delph. Stories abounded that Liverpool was ready to make him the kingpin of its midfield once Steven Gerrard departs for Los Angeles after the season and that Tottenham Hotspur, among others, was ready to pay him at least twice what he is receiving at Villa.
Delph instead signed a new contract to remain at Villa Park until the summer of 2019.
The decision surprised Paul Lambert, his coach at Villa. It surprised those he is closest to — the players with whom he shared a fight against relegation last season, just as the club is struggling once again this year to stay in the big money of the Premier League.
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No longer a boy at 25, he remembered that call in 2010 after he suffered a serious knee injury.
Even though there is speculation that the owner, the American Randy Lerner, might soon sell the club, the player thinks that now is the time to repay that trust.
There is suspicion that the club and the player have signed a contract as an insurance policy and that Delph might yet be sold, to the financial benefit of both player and club. But how nice it would be if Villa stays up in the Premier League and Delph stays true?
A version of this article appears in print on February 2, 2015, in The International New York Times. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
