View: A look back at the curse of the Aston Villa No.9 shirt as Bertrand Traore takes up the mantle
At Manchester United, the No.7 shirt has long been labelled as ‘cursed’ since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, but at Aston Villa, it has surprisingly been the No.9 jersey in recent years.
Although the No.9 top is known to be the most iconic number in football, Villa have struggled to find many players who have thrived under its burden.
From the most recent Danny Ings to Scott Hogan and all the way to Marlon Harewood, the club have had their fair share of nines, with Bertrand Traore the latest to don the top after being recalled from his loan at Istanbul Basaksehir last month.
Here’s a look at Aston Villa’s five most recent occupants of the No.9 jersey.
Danny Ings
Ings split opinions during his stint at B6, and many feel he was never given the run of games he deserved after making his £25million move to Villa Park in 2021.
The 30-year-old certainly made an instant impression donning the No.9 top when he netted a stunning bicycle kick on debut against Newcastle, but he failed to continue in the same vein for much longer.
A record of 14 goals from just over 50 appearances isn’t the worst record, but considering the price tag, many of the Villa hierarchy would have expected a more substantial and long-lasting impact.
Wesley
Wesley is very much Aston Villa’s forgotten man, but after costing a club record £20million in 2019, he failed to hit the heights expected of him in the No.9 jersey.
In the end, the former Club Brugge striker made just 26 appearances in Claret and Blue, scoring six goals.
It is a little harsh to label the striker a flop after he picked up a career-threatening cruciate ligament injury halfway through the 2020 campaign – which kept him out for 57 games – but he never seemed to have the ability to match the frantic pace of the Premier League.
The called it quits at Villa in August 2021 when he returned to Club Brugge on loan before joining second-tie Spanish side Levante this term as he looks to get his career back on track.
Scott Hogan
Hogan’s three-and-a-half-year stint at Villa Park wasn’t without its controversy, that’s for sure.
The Republic of Ireland international was seen as the signing who could bolster Aston Villa’s promotion ambitions, but at a Championship record fee of £15million, Villa simply got ripped off.
After netting just 10 goals in 61 appearances for the club, famously failing to turn up to training because his garden gate was blocked, and going on loan spells to Sheffield United, Stoke City and Birmingham City, Hogan did the No.9 top no justice at all.
Hogan is up there among the worst transfer decisions in the club’s history. The less spoken about him, the better.
Scott Sinclair
Sinclair was always a mercurial talent at Aston Villa, and despite showing flashes of brilliance, many fans would have expected far more substance in the Claret and Blue top.
The winger joined Villa on loan in 2015 before making his stay permanent that summer.
However, after just one season of donning the No.9 shirt, he was shipped off to Scottish champions Celtic.
The Englishman was undoubtedly a brilliant talent, highlighting this when memorably netting a hattrick against Notts County in 2015, but he was deemed surplus to requirements under Remi Garde and Roberto Di Matteo.
Nicklas Helenius
After being awarded the No.9 top upon signing at Aston Villa in 2013, Helenius only managed to get himself fit enough to play on the grass of Villa Park on a handful of occasions.
The Danish forward made just six appearances and netted the solitary goal – a consolation in a defeat to Sheffield United in the FA Cup.
During his 147 minutes of competitive action, Helenius looked lost as a lone striker and didn’t fare much better in a front two. His disastrous spell at the club was brought to an end a season later when he was loaned out to Aalborg before making his move permanent the following campaign.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery must end Matty Cash’s exile in defence and bring him back into the side for Ashley Young.