Aston Villa failed to sign Lewis Grabban in the summer and he joined Championship rivals Nottingham Forest from Bournemouth instead.
If Aston Villa had not lost the play-off final to Fulham and then found themselves embroiled in a financial nightmare, Lewis Grabban might be a permanent member of Steve Bruce’s squad right now.
Grabban spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa Park from Bournemouth. And he proved to be one of the Championship’s best January signings, netting eight times in 13 league starts.
This came after 12 goals for Sunderland in the first half of 2017/18, meaning Grabban finished the campaign with 20 strikes, just one behind Golden Boot winner Matej Vydra.
No wonder Aston Villa were planning to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season, as reported by the Birmingham Mail, before the risk of administration took the decision out of their hands.
Grabban left Villa Park and, eventually, rocked up at Nottingham Forest instead for £6 million, as reported by the BBC.
Fortunately for Villa fans and Bruce, the 30-year-old’s form at the City Ground makes their failure to tie him down a little easier to digest.
In five games, Grabban has failed to hit the net for Forest and even missed a last-minute penalty in the recent draw with Wigan, although El Arabi Hillel Soudani reacted sharpest to smash in the rebound.
Grabban will surely come good for Forest eventually but, for now, he is failing to rub salt into Villa’s wounds.
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