'Stupid': Tim Sherwood says Aston Villa were truly ripped off when they sold £8m player

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Tim Sherwood may only have been the manager of Aston Villa for less than a year, but what a tumultuous year that was for the Villans.

Sherwood staved off relegation and reached an FA Cup final in his first season, before a hectic summer led to a poor start to the 2015/16 season that would ultimately end in relegation.

Sherwood sold Christian Benteke to Liverpool against his will that summer, and he also had to say goodbye to Fabian Delph in one of the most controversial transfers in Villa's history.

Indeed, just days after Delph put out a statement making it clear he wanted to stay at Aston Villa, he left for Manchester City.

From the outside looking in, that is a bizarre turn of events, but speaking on the Seaman Says Podcast, Tim Sherwood has now shared his side of the story.

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What happened with Fabian Delph at Aston Villa

Sherwood says that Delph did keep telling him he wanted to stay at Villa, even when he was in talks with Man City.

However, Sherwood couldn't give Delph any assurances on the signings he would be making, so he ultimately left the club.

Delph was poached by City for just £8m as Sherwood described his release clause at that time as 'stupid'.

"Then we lost Fabian Delph who genuinely wanted to stay, but he had something stupid, a cup of tea, £8m buyout clause to go to Man City. Even though City spoke to him he was still coming to me saying 'I really want to stay boss, but who are we going to sign?' And I said 'I don't know,'" Sherwood said.

Delph made the right decision

As painful as it was at the time, and as angry as Villa fans were, in hindsight, it is fair to say that Fabian Delph made the right decision here.

Stan Collymore may have called Delph a snake when he moved, but he was being genuine when he said he wanted to stay.

However, at some point, you need to do what's best for yourself, and when your choice is to stay on a sinking ship or jump over and join the richest and best team in the league, it's a no-brainer.

Just look at how Aston Villa and Manchester City compared in the following seasons.

Delph became a Premier League champion while his former club were languishing in the Championship, and while he won't have taken any join in seeing Villa struggle so much, on a personal level, he must've felt vindicated after making this move.

Delph would eventually join Everton after a successful few years at City where he re-invented himself as a left-back.