Most of it’s here….
Aston Villa are set to be offered a choice of solutions to the club’s ‘wet-look’ shirt issue by manufacturer Castore amid optimism the issue is on course to be rectified.
Telegraph Sport understands that Castore have identified the cause of the problem and have been aiming to give Villa at least two options they believe will remedy the problem.
One of those is thought to be for Castore to provide Villa with an entire new batch of playing shirts, with the alternative likely to be making small adjustments to the current kit.
With temperatures cooling and Villa performing well this season, there is recognition the club may not want a completely new batch of shirts to give players, who can be famously superstitious.
That is why it is believed Castore have also been working on finding a way of making adjustments to the current kit that could significantly improve the performance of the shirts in the Premier League and in Europe.
Castore have not commented, but an industry insider believes the ability of Villa’s shirts to effectively absorb sweat has been impacted by an imbalance relating to the logo of the club’s principal sponsor, rather than poor quality fabric.
Villa players raised complaints about the shirt becoming wet through and heavy as they perspired, with sources claiming it felt like they had jumped into a swimming pool.
Telegraph Sport has reported that Villa and Castore have held talks over cutting their contract short at the end of this season, when the Midlands club are expected to change kit manufacturer.
While the issue has caused Castore some embarrassment, it is expected the British manufacturer will take over as Everton’s kit supplier from next season.
It is understood that Castore are not the only manufacturer to experience this type of problem, but some of the market’s biggest brands have fixed the issue without it becoming public knowledge.
In a statement, Castore said: “There has been some media speculation about a potential issue in the football kit supplied by Castore to Aston Villa Football Club. We are working closely in collaboration with the club to address this issue as quickly as possible to meet the standards we expect. We would like to thank the club for their patience and support to date.
“As a proud new British brand, we always hold ourselves to the highest of standards and strive to do everything we can to constantly improve the performance of our products. This means addressing any customer concerns with promptness and humility.”
