CIARAN CLARK makes his first return to Villa Park this weekend, having admitted it was an “easy decision” to swap Aston Villa for Newcastle even though the two clubs accompanied each other into Championship last season.

Clark completed a £5m switch to St James’ Park when Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez triggered the buy-out clause in his Villa contract at the start of August.

Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo did not want to lose the 26-year-old centre-half, and publicly criticised his club’s former regime for agreeing to the inclusion of such a low release clause in Clark’s contract.

The Republic of Ireland international first joined Villa’s academy at the age of 11, and had formed a strong bond with the club, where he had previously worn the captain’s armband, but when Newcastle came calling, there was only one thought in his mind.

“For me, it wasn’t a hard decision at all to be honest,” said Clark. “It happened pretty quickly. As soon as I found out the buy-out clause had been met, straightaway I wanted to get up the road and come and see what the place was about and to get things sorted. I did, and I’ve settled in now and am ready to go.

“It was a mixture of everything - the manager, the size of the club, you can’t get any bigger. And the signings we’d already made showed that we would be having a good go this year.

“For me, personally, it was the right time football-wise to experience something different. I needed that fresh start in my career - a new club, manager and set of lads.”

Newcastle’s backroom stability also helped, with Benitez’s decision to remain at St James’ Park in an attempt to build on the progress that was made at the end of last season standing in marked contrast to the summer upheaval that was apparent at Villa Park.

Chinese businessman Tony Xia completed his takeover of Villa in the summer, wiping away the final remnants of the disastrous Randy Lerner regime, and Di Matteo was appointed as the manager at the start of June, replacing stand-in Eric Black, who presided over last season’s relegation.

Villa have invested in the playing squad this summer, splashing out more than £20m on the capture of Ross McCormack and Jonathan Kodjia, but while it remains too early to make any conclusive judgements, Clark’s initial assessment that Newcastle were better placed to mount an immediate promotion push already looks well founded.

The Magpies remain in third position in the table despite last weekend’s home defeat to Wolves, and are through to the fourth round of the EFL Cup, while Villa find themselves in 18th position, having won just one of their opening eight league matches.

“I think, for myself personally, I’ve seen a lot of stuff at Villa,” said Clark, who will hope to retain his place in Saturday’s starting line-up, having contributed to Tuesday’s League Cup clean sheet against Wolves. “I’ve been through a lot of managers.

“You never know what’s going to happen and you never know what’s around the corner, but I felt there was stability here and that I could improve my game as well. So far, I’ve settled in well, and feel like I’m improving.”

Meanwhile, Vurnon Anita has been rewarded for his strong start to the season with a place in the provisional Holland squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against France and Belarus.

It is the first time a player plying his trade in the Championship has been selected for a senior Dutch squad, and Anita’s selection sees him preferred to former Newcastle full-back Daryl Janmaat, who has been overlooked following his summer move to Watford.