Ahead of the upcoming winter window, we look back at Villa’s five most successful January signings.
It is nearly that time again – the January transfer window.
A window that was introduced a decade-and-a-half ago to offer teams a chance to make one or two additions to bolster their squad for the second half of a season has since become the most frenzied and inflated transfer market in football.
For Aston Villa, this year’s window is the first under Steve Bruce’s management, and represents a chance for Bruce to both put some of his own stamp on his squad, and boost his ranks as Villa look to cement a play-off challenge in 2017.
Ahead of the window, we’ve looked back at the five most successful bits of business Villa have done to add to their squad in January over the past 14 years.
5) Emile Heskey (Wigan Athletic, 2009)
Heskey’s name may not be synonymous with success for Villa fans, but he sneaks into this top five as a result of his relative longevity at Villa Park, and the part he undoubtedly played in the latter successes of Martin O’Neill’s reign.
His goalscoring record was hardly prolific – he netted just 14 times in three-and-a-half years – but he played over a century of games for Villa and was a regular part of the team (whether as a starter or from the bench) which finished in sixth place in his first half season and full campaign, as well as reaching the League Cup final in the latter.
4) Nolberto Solano (Newcastle United, 2004)
Hugely popular on Tyneside both before and after his stint at Villa, Solano was a favourite at Villa Park too, and it was easy to see why.
Though he only spent one full season in Birmingham, that campaign was a hueg success individually for the Peruvian. He scored nine times in all competitions, often spectacularly from free-kicks or open play, and was named both supporters’ and his fellow players’ player of the year.
3) Darren Bent (Sunderland, 2011)
Villa payed what was considered at the time a huge fee for the prolific Black Cats hitman in their only campaign under Gerard Houllier, and he makes this list largely due to the way he repaid that fee in his first half-season at the club.
Villa were in 17th place when Bent joined, in dire risk of relegation. However, the England man scored nine league goals in 16 appearances to lift the club up the table, and they ultimately finished ninth.
Though he would stay at Villa until 2015, he spent only one more season as first-choice striker before the arrival of Christian Benteke in 2012.
2) John Carew (Lyon, 2007)
Carew scored just three times in the second half of 2006-07, but would become Villa’s leading frontman for the next few years. The fact that he arrived in exchange for Milan Baros only added to the success of the move.
The big Norwegian scored 44 goals over his first three full seasons at the club, finishing as Villa’s top scorer in each of those campaigns. Despite his career at Villa Park fizzling out in his final season, he remains a huge hero at the club and frequently voices his support for the club in interviews.
1) Ashley Young (Watford, 2007)
Just a day after Carew’s arrival, Martin O’Neill signed another man who would become a leading in his top-six side over the next three years.
In his first full season at Villa, Young was named in the PFA Team of the Year and finished second in assists only to Cesc Fabregas. In total he would scored 38 times in nearly 200 games for the club, becoming a fully-established England international during his time at Villa before leaving for Manchester United in a big-money move in 2011.
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