CONOR Hourihane admits that he will ‘probably’ leave Aston Villa this summer.
The Bandon soccer star will return to the Premier League club after his loan spell with Swansea City ended in Championship play-off final defeat recently.
While Hourihane (30) has one year left on his contract with Villa, he acknowledges that his future lies away from the club.
He has spoken before about his need and desire to play regular football but had found himself on the bench at Villa last season before he joined Swansea on loan in January.
The West Cork man linked up with the Republic of Ireland squad for two recent international friendlies – he chipped in with an assist in the 4-1 win against Andorra – and said he expects his future to be decided in the coming weeks.
‘Probably so, there's no getting away from that,’ Hourihane replied when asked if his future lies away from Villa Park.
‘Firstly I have a couple of games with Ireland, then I'll get a bit of down time, relaxation time as we have had two back-to-back seasons, pretty much relentless for a long period of time.
‘Then we'll see what happens with the future after these games. I will be heading back to Villa for pre-season and see where we go from there.’
