Former England international publicly claims Villa can win the Premier League this season

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After a brilliant few results, Les Ferdinand has now compared Aston Villa’s title chances to those of Leicester City back in 2016.

Ferdinand was speaking on talkSPORT this morning and was fighting the case for Villa not to be forgotten.

The pundit was discussing the title race with Alan Brazil, who suggested it was a now a three-horse debate, and Ferdinand was very quick to disagree.

Backing Unai Emery’s side, Ferdinand thought another fairy tale story was possible.

Brazil asked: “Is the Premier League a three horse race – City, Liverpool and Arsenal?”

Ferdinand replied: “I am really impressed with what Aston Villa are doing at the moment. 

“Many years ago we looked at a Leicester team people said had no chance of winning the league and week in, week out they put in performances that in the end won the league.

“Aston Villa at the moment I would not discount them being in the race right until the end.”

Of course, a big part of Villa’s success this season has been owed to their captain, John McGinn.

Perhaps when drawing parallels, Ferdinand would compare Villa’s McGinn to former Leicester captain Danny Drinkwater.

Who incidentally did still have one regret regarding his own time at Aston Villa.

Les Ferdinand believes Villa can achieve a Leceister story this season

McGinn has been brilliant for Emery this season, leading by example both on and off the pitch.

And with a title push in mind, there’s perhaps only one worry at play for the club.

Whilst they can’t control the form of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, who could ultimately prove too strong to compete with, Villa can address some potentially concerning situations ahead of January.

Although 20-year-old Jhon Duran is an extremely promising player, he perhaps isn’t yet equipped to substitute for Ollie Watkins were he to miss a run of games.

And ahead of the Euros fans will be praying that isn’t the case anyway, but Micah Richards did recently share his concern regarding squad depth.

Of course, Ferdinand might point out that Leicester didn’t have a ton beyond their starting eleven when defending Villa.

It’s certainly going to be a fascinating story to follow, one that could cemented in the history books.