Mark Hughes insists he has always been an admirer of Gareth Barry.

Manchester City paid Aston Villa £12million for the England international in the summer, and the player returns to his former club for the first time on Monday night.

"Gareth was always a player I had admired from afar,” said Blues boss Hughes. "He has a huge range of passing and is able to be constructive and destructive in midfield.

"When you also take into account the amount of quality games he is able to produce over a long period of time, I just felt he was a player we needed to bring to the club.

"Those type of players are invaluable. He just comes in and gets the job done. You look for players who are able to produce nothing less than a seven every week.

“Invariably his mark is higher than that but you can hang your hat on Gareth Barry because he is able to produce consistent performances."

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