Aston Villa’s best-ever deadline day signings: Christian Benteke and £8m sensation
Aston Villa have had a transfer window to forget, but there have been some high points on deadline day in years gone by.
To this point, Evann Guessand from Nice is the marquee signing for Villa, with the Ivory Coast international joining Marco Bizot from Brest through the Villa doors.
This has seen the Villa Park faithful put their faith in Unai Emery to get business done on deadline day, after Villa were recently linked to Georges Mikautadze, which this year falls on 1 September.
It will certainly be interesting to see if the Spaniard, Monchi and Co. can push deals over the line before the window slams shut at 7pm BST.
With that being said, Villa News has now assessed the best business that the Villans have conducted on deadline day in the past.
Christian Benteke was sensational for Aston Villa
Benteke came through the doors as a largely unknown quantity as Paul Lambert completed a £7million deadline day deal in the 2012/13 season.
The man signed from Genk was an instant hit as he netted a winning goal against Swansea City on his debut, and he never looked back.
This saw Benteke have a massive impact in a short and sweet story in B6 before ultimately going on to join Liverpool for a sizable fee upwards of £32m.
| Year | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 2014/15 | 34 | 15 | 3 |
| 2013/14 | 28 | 11 | 2 |
| 2012/13 | 39 | 23 | 6 |
Before that, the Belgium international netted 49 in 101 appearances in claret and blue, with 23 of those coming in his debut season after that deadline day move.
Albert Adomah represented deadline day bargain
Although Adomah may not have had the huge impact that Benteke did, there is no getting away from his cult status and goal output at his best.
Having signed from Middlesbrough, there was no true expectation for the Ghanaian to make a massive splash at Villa Park, but he did do that in his second season.
Having contributed to 13 goals in his first campaign, the winger went on to score 15 in all competitions in the second as Villa lost in the play-offs against Fulham.
Adomah’s output may have fallen off in his third and final season, but he is well-loved, and his nickname of “Uncle Albert”, which still remains to this day, does all the talking, as does his dancing in front of the Holte End on derby day.
Alan Hutton had a crazy time at Villa Park
Hutton’s solo run and strike against Birmingham City will forever play a part in Villa folklore.
This was the crowning moment across a career in B6 that started all the way back in 2011 after a deadline day move from Tottenham.
It is fair to say that the Scotland international battled through struggles to make a career with Villa, having been loaned out to Bolton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Mallorca.
That was until the right-back became a regular in the Championship and made a name for himself as “The Scottish Cafu”.
Although it wasn’t the greatest overall career in the Midlands for Hutton, there is no doubt that his cult hero status was worth that fee in the region of £4m.
James Collins and Richard Dunne signed on the same day
Double signings are a rare thing in football, but that didn’t stop Villa from bringing in both Collins and Dunne from West Ham and Manchester City, respectively.
The duo came straight in against Chelsea for their debuts, both scoring headers from corners to cancel out an earlier Didier Drogba strike at Villa Park.
- Drogba beat Brad Friedel from range to make it 1-0
- Dunne headed home an equaliser from six yards less than 20 minutes later
- Just six minutes into the second half, Collins scored a very similar goal to make it 2-1
Both had positive spells with the Villans and represented solid enough options in what went on to be a testing time for the claret and blue outfit.
As deadline day signings go, these two weren’t too bad.
Morgan Rogers has stunned everyone at Aston Villa
No one thought that travelling north for an FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough would result in one of the best signings in Villa history with Rogers.
That has certainly been the case with Rogers, who joined from Boro on deadline day in 2024 for an initial price of just £8m but has proven his worth in gold since then.
With an amazing ability to drive with the ball, score and assist, the 23-year-old has gone on to become a full England international before winning PFA Young Player of the Year.
This just showcases the eye for talent that Emery has and is also a testament to how well the attacking midfielder has done since moving to the Premier League.
There is no doubt that Rogers and Benteke are the best deadline day signings that Villa have made in the modern era.
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