View: January 2020 – The most bizarre transfer window in Aston Villa history?
After securing a famous promotion to the Premier League in 2019, Aston Villa struggled to hit the ground running under Dean Smith the following season and entered the January transfer window perched precariously above the relegation zone.
A run of four wins, three draws and 12 losses meant the Villans needed an injection of cash in the winter window to propel them away from the clutches of relegation – but what awaited was possibly the strangest accumulation of signings in the club’s history.
The club couldn’t sell any of its deadwood, so loan spells for the likes of Andre Green, Love Kalinic, Scott Hogan and James Chester were permitted, but respective replacements weren’t supplied to Smith.
Pepe Reina (Loan)
In goal, the usually dependable Tom Heaton suffered a long-term knee injury on New Year’s Day, while back-ups Jed Steer and Orjan Nyland weren’t thought to be up to the standard required, so 38-year-old Pepe Reina was snapped up instead.
The former Liverpool keeper had played just five games for AC Milan over the previous two seasons, and unfortunately, it showed in a string of underwhelming performances in the second half of the season.
Yes, he did grace the Villa Park dressing room with some beautiful dance moves, and yes, he did eventually play his part in pushing Smith’s side towards safety – but it was certainly a strange transfer.
Danny Drinkwater (Loan)
Next up was the loan move for Danny Drinkwater. The former Leicester City title winner and £35million Chelsea transfer had had a rather dramatic fall from grace in the seasons prior to his Villa Park move, but the club didn’t seem to care.
The 29-year-old had featured just 13 times over the two-and-half seasons following the Foxes’ miraculous Premier League triumph but was the definition of a transfer blunder.
Making his debut against Manchester City, it didn’t take fans long to see why Drinkwater had fallen out under so many managers. Within 45 minutes, Smith’s side were four goals down, and by the end of the afternoon, they had shipped six.
The Englishman would only make three further appearances in claret and blue before being sent packing in the summer.
Borja Baston (Free transfer)
When Borja Baston signed for Villa on deadline day in January, many fans were left surprised at the left-field choice. Was this an unearthed gem the club had found? Was this a striker who could fire Villa away from Premier League relegation? No. No, it wasn’t.
The Spaniard’s stint at Villa Park included seven touches of the football, two touches in the opposition penalty area and not a single shot on goal in his two appearances.
He did, however, pressure the opposition ten times and carry the ball an extremely valuable 19 yards. Working regulations would even provide you with a meal break longer than Baston’s on-field antics at Villa.
Yes, it is worth noting that Aston Villa were in desperate need of a striker after Wesley’s season-ending injury sustained on New Year’s Day and the deal for Baston was rather low-risk, but even so, it wasn’t the finest piece of business.
Ally Samatta (£10million)
Ally Samatta was seen as the antidote to Villa’s scoring difficulties under Smith in 2020, but the former Genk forward quickly found himself on the periphery of proceedings at Villa Park.
Villa almost ended up paying the Tanzanian striker £1million for every start he made in claret and blue, and he was loaned out the following season to Fenerbache before securing a permanent transfer away a season later.
Despite failing to hit the heights expected of him, he did have one moment that will live long in his memory. One of his two goals for the club came in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City as he gave Smith’s side a shock lead against the Premier League frontrunners at the time.
It was prime Samatta. The Samatta many fans had seen on YouTube highlight reels prior to signing. Unfortunately, this was the only glimpse of quality fans got to witness before Villa forked out on Ollie Watkins in the summer of 2020.
In other Aston Villa news, this one first-team player could quickly become a fan-favourite after his brilliant performance against Leeds in the Premier League.