Aston Villa fans will be pleased Steve Bruce did not get hands on defensive target Trent Sainsbury

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Tottenham Hotspur kept their Champions League hopes alive last night, with a 2-1 win over PSV Eindhoven.

Harry Kane netted an equaliser for Spurs before his header was then inadvertently turned past his own keeper by PSV defender Trent Sainsbury.

That name will no doubt sound familiar to Aston Villa fans. In the summer, the Championship side were looking for a new centre-back.

The Sun (24/06/18; pg 60) suggested that Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce had identified the Socceroo as a potential option to strengthen their backline.

Aston Villa were in financial trouble at the time. However, Sainsbury was hoping to agree the cancellation of his contract with Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning, which was in its final year. He managed that at the end of July, but Aston Villa did not become his next destination.

Instead, he headed back to the Netherlands, where he had previous success with PEC Zwolle.

Aston Villa fans may feel they have dodged a bullet now. Sainsbury has largely been a sub at PSV and was brought in with nine minutes left to help PSV out against Tottenham last night. Instead, he scored a calamitous own goal.