Wyness has admitted that he was not expecting to be able to bring in one player in particular.
Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness has revealed to the Birmingham Mail that he and the rest of the board were surprised that they managed to seal a deal for Scott Hogan in the January transfer window.
Hogan was attracting numerous suitors in the mid-season market thanks to his impressive for for Brentford, which saw him rack up 14 goals in 25 Championship appearances before the end of January.
He was being linked with Premier League clubs, with West Ham United long reported to be the frontrunners for his signature.
However, he ultimately chose to join Villa, despite last season’s relegated side struggling in lower-mid-table in the Championship.
The £9 million move to Villa Park raised some eyebrows amongst supporters and pundits, and Wyness has now admitted that even Villa officials were surprised to be able to lure Hogan.
Wyness told the Birmingham Mail: “The whole Scott Hogan thing, we didn’t believe he was going to become available because we thought he was going to be going to West Ham.
“It only came about in the last week of the window that we might be able to get the deal done. He’s always been a target and we were pleased to see, after his injuries last summer, how his medical side had stood up.”
It’s funny that Wyness should mention Hogan’s injury history, given that the striker was recently ruled out for up to six weeks with an ankle problem suffered in the defeat to Newcastle last month.
Though it came as a relief to player, club and fans alike that the nasty-looking fall did not result in further damage, it will be hugely frustrating for the striker, who will now struggle to build up any head of steam in the remaining weeks of the season once he returns.
Hogan has failed to score in four appearances for Villa so far.
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