Aston Villa and Manchester United interested in “quiet leader” – Performances not going unnoticed

Aston Villa and Manchester United remain interested in Borussia Dortmund’s Waldermar Anton this summer.

BILD report that Manchester United, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid are all interested in the 29-year-old, who is set to be handed a ‘third captain’ role at the German club.

A quiet leader

The newspaper explains that following the departure of Julian Brandt, Dortmund will need to reorganise their leadership hierarchy for the upcoming season.

Coach Niko Kovac already has a clear plan to redistribute responsibility. And according to BILD, Waldermar Anton is the top candidate to replace Brandt as third captain. He was already a ‘de facto leader’ on the pitch last season without the armband.

That led to praise from Kovac, and a glowing endorsement of his importance.

“Waldi is a leader – a quiet leader,” he said.

“Not someone who seeks the limelight, but someone who does his job behind the scenes, both internally and on the pitch. He’s a true professional through and through!”

The feeling is that the player has ‘long possessed the captain’s gene’. He’s not only a constant presence in the back three, but also the one giving orders on the pitch. And it’s not gone unnoticed by ‘top clubs’ either.

Aston Villa and Manchester United interest

Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Atlético Madrid are all interested in him. This is not the first time that they have been named as suitors either.

Sport Witness covered a report at the end of March insisting that Aston Villa and Manchester United both had the Borussia Dortmund man on their agenda.

According to that report, United had already made contact about a potential move. Aston Villa were simply interested and nothing more. Now BILD insist that they remain in the picture, without providing any more details than that.

But it seems both Premier League clubs have been watching with interest, perhaps also seeing big value in Anton’s leadership qualities.