Aston Villa’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time
FT Desk
- Updated: 7 Sep 2023 13:33 CDT
- 5 min read
Premier League side Aston Villa are one of English football’s most prestigious and historic clubs, having been founded in 1874.
Since then the Birmingham club have won no less than seven top-flight titles and seven FA Cups, as well as a European Cup in 1982.
However, when it comes to transfer fees spent on players, Aston Villa are like much of English football in seeing their record transfer fee get broken on an almost annual basis since the introduction of the Premier League and the TV riches that have come with it.
As such, all of the club’s most expensive signings have come during its modern period, even if said players aren’t always considered some of the most talented stars to ply their trade at Villa Park over the decades.
10. Tyrone Mings - £20.07m (From Bournemouth, 2019)
Although Tyrone Mings hasn’t been at Aston Villa for very long, the England defender has undoubtedly proved his worth to the Premier League side and been worth every penny the club spent on signing him from Bournemouth.
He has developed into a fine centre-back and leader in defence and has also previously been called up to the England squad.
9. Wesley - £22.5m (From Club Brugge, 2019)
While a number of the players on this list went on to live up to their price tag for Villa, that unfortunately was not the case when it came to Wesley.
Signed in 2019 for no less than £22.5m after an impressive season in Belgium which saw him score 17 goals and 10 assists, the Brazilian striker then arrived in England and stumbled through his first season with just five Premier League goals in 21 games.
In his second season, he managed just three appearances for the club and was quickly sent back on loan to Belgium. Following stints at Internacional in Brazil and Levante in Spain, Wesley departed Villa Park for Championship side Stoke for a fraction of what Villa had originally paid for him.
8. Danny Ings - £26.48m (From Southampton, 2021)
Following the departure of Jack Grealish to Man City in the summer of 2021, Villa went on a spending spree to bolster their attacking options. And that included Southampton striker Danny Ings.
Following a spell on the south coast which saw the England striker bag 46 goals in 100 games for the Saints, Ings was hoping to carry on his impressive Premier League record at Villa Park.
However, he lasted just 18 months before being sold on to West Ham in January 2023.
7. Lucas Digne - £27m (from Everton, 2022)
In the 2022 January transfer window, Aston Villa took advantage of Lucas Digne's breakdown in relations with Everton to swoop and sign the French full-back for £27m.
Digne had fallen out with Everton boss Rafa Benitez, who was happy to let the player move on to pastures new despite him being one of the club's better performers over the previous couple of years.
6. Diego Carlos - £27.9m (from Sevilla, 2022)
Aston Villa brought one of La Liga's most consistent defenders to Villa Park by signing Sevilla's Diego Carlos in 2022, securing his signing for £27.9m.
However, the Brazilian suffered a devastating achilles injury in just his second game for the club, ruling him out for the entirety of his debut season.
5. Leon Bailey - £28m (from Leverkusen, 2021)
Having been linked with a move to the Premier League for a number of years, Leon Bailey finally made his move from Germany to England in the summer of 2021. However, rather than arriving at a Manchester United or a Liverpool, he instead signed for Villa.
The Jamaican winger was a tremendous talent in the Bundesliga for a number of years, but it took some time for him to adapt to his new surroundings in England.
Scenes. 😍 @LeonBailey 🚀 #AVLEVE pic.twitter.com/blrxShkA8T
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 18, 2021
4. Pau Torres - £35m (From Villarreal, 2023)
Spanish coach Unai Emery decided to raid his former club Villarreal by bringing one of his favourite players to Villa Park in the summer of 2023. Pau Torres joined the Villans for £35m off the back of an impressive season at La Ceramica where he helped the Yellow Submarine finish 5th in LaLiga.
3. Ollie Watkins - £30.6m (From Brentford, 2020)
Signed in 2020 by his former manager at Brentford Dean Smith, Watkins was undoubtedly a signing with a huge amount of risk due to the fact that he was a then-club record signing and was brought to the club based on his goal-scoring in the second tier.
However, the English striker alleviated any fears Villa fans may have had about him being a dud when he bagged no less than 14 goals and five assists in his first Premier League season with the club. Watkins can no be considered one of the division's finest strikers.
2. Emiliano Buendia - £34.56m (From Norwich, 2021)
If Watkins was once considered a risky move then Emiliano Buendia was undoubtedly an even bigger one, when the Argentina winger was plucked from Norwich’s Championship-winning side and tasked with being the main replacement for Grealish.
After a remarkable record of 15 goals and 17 assists in a single Championship season, Buendia naturally struggled to replicate that form at his new club but he did eventually acclimatise to life at Villa Park well enough, though actually justifying that price tag is a different beast altogether.
1. Moussa Diaby - £51.9m (From Bayer Leverkusen, 2023)
Villa splashed the cash in the summer of 2023 and Pau Torres wasn't the only big-money arrival. French international Moussa Diaby, often linked with the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle, joined the Birmingham club after they won a bidding war with Saudi side Al-Nassr.
The £51.9m spent represents a club-record fee, but Diaby has all the potential to pay back that sum and then some.
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Read more about: Premier League, Aston Villa, Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendía, Lucas Digne, Ollie Watkins, Philippe Coutinho
