Conor Hourihane and Matt Targett message player after his Aston Villa exit

By Dom Toner

Tom Heaton has posted a heartfelt message on Instagram following his exit from Aston Villa.

Heaton, 35, will be leaving the Midlands club after two years with them.

His exit was confirmed yesterday on the official website, along with Neil Taylor and Ahmed Elmohamady.

The English goalkeeper made just 20 appearances during his Villa spell. Unfortunately, he missed a large chunk through injury. 

But he did start the 2019/20 campaign as number one in goal at Villa Park, which is a role now held by the brilliant Emiliano Martinez. 

Heaton, who has reportedly (Mirror) agreed a two-year deal with Manchester United, now looks set to join a Premier League rival.

The three-time capped England international uploaded an Instagram messages following his departure. Matt Targett and loanee Conor Hourihane are among those to respond.

Heaton a great goalkeeper, but Martinez is another level for Aston Villa

Heaton clearly was a popular figure around Villa park, and plenty are sad to see him leave. 

In truth, the peak of his career was spent at Burnley, keeping 65 clean sheets in 200 appearances at Turf Moor.

Villa manager Dean Smith is now extremely fortunate to have 28-year-old Argentine Martinez in net, who was arguably the standout goalkeeper in the entire Premier League this season. The Midlands club look a completely side with him.

His £17million signing from Arsenal last summer looks an inspired piece of business. With him in goal, they have the solid foundation of Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings at centre-back in front.

They really should be looking to push for the European positions next year with the talented squad they have.

In other news, Report: Arsenal keen on £49m star that Thierry Henry called ‘amazing’ in 2017