Glenn Whelan is a veteran of more than 552 career games, 338 of which came in the top flight with Stoke City.

Last time out, with Aston Villa, he almost returned to the promised land, missing out in the play-off final.

However, he's 34-years old now and as time ticks away, those games are going to become fewer and farther between.

With just four Republic of Ireland caps in the last eighteen months too, it is fair to assume that he's nearing the end of a stellar career.

Will we see as much of Glenn Whelan this season? Is he likely to be as involved as he was last time around, or is the decline about to kick in? Here's a FLW spotlight to help you decide.

Whelan played in a significant number of Villa's games last season, 35 in the league. He played in both play-off semi-finals, but notably did not feature in the disappointing final defeat against Fulham.

His move might have raised a few eyebrows last summer, it seemed a big fee to splash out on a player of his age and his goals return shows no signs of any payback.

He scored just once, as Villa beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-2.

He did create a goal too, but then again Glenn Whelan has never been about goals.

In his 338 Stoke outings he scored three times. Judging him on goals is like judging Harry Kane on clean sheets.

What Whelan does do is marshal the midfield, making tackles and passes, blocks and interceptions. He averaged 1.5 tackles per game last season, which isn't a great number for an all-action central midfielder. It is around the same figure he got for Stoke in the top flight though.

He made 41.9 passes per game, a much better reflection of his all-round game.

Of those passes, 81.4% were successful. When you consider a player in the middle of the park, spraying balls where he can, it is a very good percentage indeed. It's a figure he's maintained throughout his career.

When looking back at the numbers over a few seasons, it is apparent that last season was very much 'business as usual' for Glenn Whelan.

His numbers are consistent and have been throughout his Stoke spell, as well as his time at Villa.

Despite his advancing years, there's no evidence of a drop in Whelan's overall contribution, so the only reason we might not see him as much is if Villa change direction.

With their financial worries, I can't see them looking at a solid professional like Glenn Whelan and discarding him though, not for one moment.