John Carew admits his time at Aston Villa is over as he hopes to make permanent switch to Stoke

John Carew & Jonathan Walters celebrate during Stoke City’s FA Cup win over Brighton (Getty Images)

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Striker John Carew has targeted a permanent move to Stoke City after ruling out ever playing for Aston Villa again.

The Norwegian target man joined Stoke on loan in January from the Birmingham club and admitted he has no intention of returning to Villa Park as a player.

“Aston Villa was a fantastic period of my life,” Carew told reporters.

“I will go and watch Aston Villa as a fan, as a supporter, but not as a player anymore.

“I have a fantastic relationship with the fans and there will always be a place in my heart for them. I love the club immensely but my time there is finished.”

Despite intending to quit Villa, Carew is keen to remain in England and the 31-year-old revealed his love for Stoke.

“I want to stay in England,” he added.

“I love Stoke, the fans are fantastic, the changing room is amazing with world-class banter.

“There’s a really strong team spirit, that’s like a symbol of Stoke, the togetherness, atmosphere, everybody working for each other. That’s why we achieve the success.

“We just have to see after the season. We’ve been to the cup final now, there are a couple of games left, it is not the time to talk contracts.”