Lambert confident Cissokho will thrive at Aston Villa

Paul Lambert is confident that Aly Cissokho will prove an asset to Aston Villa after the defender completed a move to the Midlands club.

The left back has signed a four-year deal with Villa, who are thought to have paid Valencia around £2million for his signature, and the transfer will be rubberstamped upon the receipt of international clearance. Cissokho already has experiencing of playing in the Premier League, having made 15 appearances during a loan spell at Liverpool last season, although Brendan Rodgers decided against making the move permanent.

The 26-year-old, who won his only international cap for France in 2010, becomes Lambert’s fourth major signing of the summer, following Joe Cole, Kieran Richardson and Philippe Senderos. And the Villa manager is confident that Cissokho will thrive in the Premier League and prove to be a valuable asset to his side.

“Aly will bring a lot of experience,” he told the official club website. “This will stand him in really good stead and stand us in good stead as well. He has big game experience, he’s not a novice. He’s big, strong and powerful and he had a good taste of it at Liverpool. Aly’s also at a good age and I think he’ll be a big asset, no question.”

One of Cissokho’s appearances for Liverpool came at Vila Park last August, when he appeared as a second-half substitute in the Reds’ 1-0 win. The defender has fond memories of that occasion, and he is now looking forward to playing at the famous stadium again, this time with the backing of the home support.

“I remember everything about the game because it was my first here in England – the pitch, the stadium, the fans, everything was incredible,” he told AVTV. “I remember the atmosphere created by the Villa fans was so good even though Liverpool won! It was a good game and I will always remember it because it was my first in the Premier League and it was here at Aston Villa. After I finished my loan with Liverpool I was keen to come back to play football in England, and I was very excited to come here.”

Villa begin their Premier League campaign next Saturday afternoon, when they travel to the Britannia Stadium to take on Mark Hughes’ Stoke City.

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