Leo Bonatini is a regular starter for Wolverhampton Wanderers but he nearly joined Championship rivals Aston Villa instead last summer.
Fortunately for Aston Villa, missing out on Leo Bonatini last summer did not come back to haunt them on Saturday evening.
According to the Birmingham Mail, Villa wanted to sign the Brazilian striker from Saudi side Al-Hilal but were forced to drop the deal as they could not afford him. Financial Fair Play limitations mean that Villa have barely spent a penny in each of the last two transfer windows.
But Bonatini failed to show Steve Bruce and co what they were missing at Villa Park. In the end, the former Sao Paolo striker joined Midlands rivals Wolves instead but, after 12 goals in his first 20 games for the club, is bang out of form.
He was completely ineffective against John Terry and the excellent James Chester as Villa cruised to a 4-1 win against the league leaders. As a result, it is now 15 games since Bonatini last hit the back of the net.
And, on this evidence, Villa fans are not too concerned about the fact that Wolves, whose Jorge Mendes-led transfer activity has been the subject of a complaint from their Midland rivals according to the Telegraph, swooped in to sign Bonatini from under their nose.
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