Aston Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo has revealed that the Alan Hutton featured on FIFA 17 is the actual Alan Hutton, meaning he could be unavailable for real-life selection for the foreseeable future.
Concerns were raised when Hutton failed to turn up to training and intensified with reports of the 31-year-old’s uncanny likeness on FIFA ’17.
Club officials' worst fears were confirmed when they booted up their Xbox to find a tired, inch-long Hutton misfiring passes in a friendly against Real Madrid.
Manager confirmation
Plus if you turned the sound up loud enough you could hear him loudly cursing and muttering indecipherable, vituperative Glaswegian threats
“We knew immediately [that Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton had transmogrified into a computer game character of himself],” Di Matteo told FourFourTwo.
“You can’t simulate that sluggish put-upon gait or absolute disinterest in passing the ball to a team-mate.
“Plus if you turned the sound up loud enough you could hear him loudly cursing and muttering indecipherable, vituperative Glaswegian threats.”
Di Matteo has urged fans not to pick Hutton if they play as Aston Villa on the game, and not to foul him if he appears on an opposing team.
Hutton had been expected to replace the suspended Leandro Bacuna for this weekend's clash, against Preston, but his involvement will now depend on the outcome of a Career Mode being played by a 16-year-old in Lanarkshire.
Hope for a better future
“It’s a lot to ask of any player to put in 12 straight 90-minute games for the benefit of stoned students before coming to real-life training in the morning,” Di Matteo explained.
“It certainly goes to explain why Alan seems to have lost a yard of pace, which is a shame because that was his only yard of pace.
“I guess he just felt that the virtual world may be kinder to him than the real one.”
At this point Di Matteo tailed off and proceeded to press his forehead against the Xbox, seemingly in a futile attempt to enter the game console.
Please note: this news story is not real. Obviously.
