1989–90 in English football for 19–year–old Leytonstone defender Warren Barton. 31 July 1989 – Norwich City pay Coventry City £525,000 for Welsh winger David Phillips. 3 August 1989 – Nottingham Forest pay Leeds United £650,000 for Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan. 7 August 1989 – Everton sign Aston Villa defender Martin Keown for £750,000. 14 August 1989 – Adrian Heath returns to English football after less than a year in Spain when he joins Aston Villa from Espanyol for £360,000. 18 August 1989 – Property tycoon Michael Knighton agrees to buy control of Manchester United in a deal which is believed to be
Dion Dublin sustained a life-threatening broken neck, as a result of which he permanently has a titanium plate holding three neck vertebrae together. Just days before suffering this injury, it was reported in the "News of the World" that Dublin would soon be sold by Aston Villa for a fee of around £6million as the club looked to finance a fall in its share value as a result of manager John Gregory's heavy expenditure on players. Incredibly, the injury did not end Dublin's career and he was back in action three months later. In April 2000, a week after returning to the