Rennes fan site Rouge Memoire posted the following tweet around the same time K.E.A was officially announced as a Villa player (LINK):

French Midfielder Yacine Brahimi is about to join Aston Villa.

He’s a Hatem Ben Arfa-like.

It will probably be a loan for Yacine Brahimi to Aston Villa

Le Telegramme.com has just posted a story on their own website linking the young 22 year old with the Midlands outfit (LINK):

The Rennais Yacine Brahimi (22 years) could be loaned to Aston Villa next season. This is certainly understands that RMC Sports .

The Rennes would be willing to let his young midfielder in the case of a loan offer with purchase options. The person would not object to this departure.

We've had a bit of a weather incident in Seattle, and with Kirsten busy saving the world in the Netherlands things have been a bit strange around these parts. Normal service should resume tomorrow.

23 - Aston Villa have dropped more points from winning positions than any other team & with those points they would be 3rd. Costly.

"'It's not easy. I'm on the bench and I cannot help the team because I do not play. I have no confidence in Gerard Houllier,' the 37 year old midfielder told RMC. 'I do not understand and I think I will talk to him. For now, I continue to work. I'm not going to give up, I will still try hard. Although I am a little disappointed because I want to play and help my friends. It's frustrating.'"

With my 9 AM Torts class canceled this morning, I found myself with two hours of unexpected free time. "Excellent," I thought to myself, "I can catch up on my outlining, perhaps even read ahead for later in the week." Instead, I used those two hours to watch multiple grainy feeds of Konyaspor v Fenerbahçe, skipping from window to window to watch the Süper Lig match. But why? I have plenty of studying that must happen if I want to pass my law school finals. Why spend two hours watching a match I didn't have to cover on a day when I was gifted the use of two free hours?

"In terms of the Champions League, we are going to give it a go as long as it is possible and I expect a positive response from the players after what happened at Chelsea."

I'm sorry I doubted you, Martin.