How Aston Villa replicated shock £25m transfer by keeping Arsenal deal quiet

To the shock of all Aston Villa fans, the club announced the signing of Calum Chambers from Arsenal on a three-and-a-half-year deal on Thursday night.

In a time where rumours and potential dealings are circling non stop in the football world, Villa once again managed to keep this deal quiet, which mirrored the situation surrounding the Danny Ings signing in summer.

Speaking to AVTV regarding the deal, Chambers had this to say: "I'm very excited. It's a great club with a great manager, a great squad. I know a few of the boys here so I'm extremely excited.

"It's all happened pretty quickly to be honest. It was a few days ago I was aware of the interest and yeah, since then, its felt like it’s happened pretty quick so it's exciting.

"I've played at Villa Park a few times, it's a great stadium and it's got a great set of fans, and obviously the manager as well.

“He (Gerrard) did very well at Rangers and he's a young, exciting manager and I can't wait to work with him. We spoke a few times, it's all really positive and I can't wait to get started.”

Villa executed their business quietly and efficiently to acquire an experienced and versatile player to add to Steven Gerrard's squad. Speaking on the similar interaction he had in negotiations, Ings commented on how Villa are able to execute deals such as this.

He stated: "I’ve been at a lot of places in my career but this was definitely the best-kept secret.

"It has been a crazy couple of days. I wasn’t able to tell my family until it was announced. Now I am just happy to be here and get started.

“It’s hard to explain (what moments like this) are like. I am very close with my dad. Not being able to tell him during the process was probably the toughest thing ever. I told him on