Aston Villa failed to land Abel Hernandez from Hull City last summer, but they did get Ross McCormack from Fulham.
Abel Hernandez being ruled out for six months with a ruptured Achilles was the worst possible news Hull City could have received just a few weeks into the new Championship season. The Uruguayan may have struggled for goals in the Premier League as the Tigers were relegated in 2016/17 but there are few better than Hernandez at second tier level.
His 21 goals fired Hull to promotion in 2015/16 and he hit three in three under new manager Leonid Slutsky before the dreaded injury struck.
Yet, Aston Villa fans could be forgiven for wondering whether a fully-fit Hernandez could have been the final piece in the jigsaw this season. The striker’s agent, Pablo Bentacur, told Tuttomercatoweb that Villa wanted to sign him ‘at all costs’ this summer.
And Hernandez would have been a welcome addition, with Jonathan Kodjia and Scott Hogan struggling with injuries.
Although this is not the first time the former Palermo striker has been linked with Villa. Sky Sports reported in the summer of 2016 that Villa made an astonishing club-record bid of £20 million for Hernandez only for the two parties to fail to agree personal terms.
Worth every penny?
A year on, with Villa constrained by Financial Fair Play, they could only dream of splashing out such a sum so you wonder whether finances curtailed their hopes of finally bringing Hernandez to the Midlands at the start of the most recent transfer window.
Yet, it is tempting to wonder how Villa would have fared last season if they had managed to get a deal for Hernandez over the line rather than paying Fulham £12 million for Ross McCormack (BBC).
Like Hernandez, McCormack is a proven second tier striker but he endured a disastrous 2016/17, scoring just four goals and falling out of with manager Steve Bruce. They even failed to offload him in the summer.
Therefore, although Hernandez would have cost £8 million more, he may have been worth every penny to Villa.
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