Aston Villa’s International Player of the Week

Name: Ciaran Clark
Country: Republic of Ireland
Position: Defender

Clark helped Republic of Ireland qualify for Euro 2016.

The 26-year-old may not have been a regular for his country in his career to date – he has 13 caps – but he was certainly a vital part of their two-legged Euro 2016 play-off victory against Bosnia & Herzegovina.

With John O’Shea and Paul McShane missing through injury, Clark was given his chance in the crucial away match on Friday night, and produced a solid performance in a 1-1 draw.

Then, on Monday night, he helped the team keep a clean sheet in a 2-0 win at the Aviva Stadium which guaranteed Ireland’s place in France next summer.