Aston Villa announce list of released players after Premier League promotion

Harsh business sometimes

Aston Villa are back in the Premier League after three seasons out of the big time. Villa defeated Derby County in the Championship playoff final, on Monday, to return to the top flight of English football. The club were in mid-table at the turn of the year but the appointment of Dean Smith and the return of captain Jack Grealish from injury helped spark an impressive run of results. Dean Smith's side defeated Derby 2-1, at Wembley, and work is already underway to ensure they can stick it out in the Premier League, with Birmingham City's Jota reportedly already on his way to Villa Park. Villa's players are enjoying a well-earned break before they return for pre-season in a few weeks and get to work, but eight of their now former teammates will not be joining them. In a very short and somewhat sweet press release, this afternoon, Villa confirmed the departure of several familiar faces: "Aston Villa has today released eight players. They are Mile Jedinak, Alan Hutton, Tommy Elphick, Albert Adomah, Glenn Whelan, Ritchie De Laet, Mark Bunn and Micah Richards. "We’d like to thank all of them for their contributions and wish them the best of luck for the future." https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1134827974778347520