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Villa have had the chance to sign some absolute superstars in the past, and have often signed duds instead. Some players that deserve honourable mentions include the likes of Barcelona player Coutinho, now Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and even English forwards Lineker, Gascoigne and Owen – but these never really looked like coming to fruition.
5. Andy Cole
Villa had the chance to sign former Manchester United forward Andy Cole back when Atkinson managed the boys in Claret and Blue.
Apparently, Doug Ellis had the deal done subject to Ron Atkinson’s approval and confirmation.
Typically, the deal fell through as Ellis couldn’t get a hold of Big Ron after trying to get a hold of him at home, Villa Park, the training ground and more.
Cole proved to be a huge loss to the club, moving to Newcastle United instead.
4. Ramadel Falcao
Everyone should know the story by now of how Aston Villa were offered Falcao, but chose to turn him down and sign Emile Heskey instead.
It could be forgivable that Villa overlooked Falcao, as he scored just 10 goals in 31 games for River Plate at the time.
Radamel Falcao did eventually move to the Premier League, with stints at Manchester United and Chelsea which cost them a shed load of money per shot he took and didn’t score.
3. Roberto Carlos
Once again, according to Doug Ellis – the club came incredibly close to signing world-class left back Roberto Carlos as his career was beginning to blossom.
Ellis watched Carlos play an international friendly against Sweden at Villa Park and got the information that Carlos was impressed with facilities and would be interested in joining.
He even asked for a wage that was no higher than the highest-paid Villa players at the time.
Brian Little was less than enthusiastic and the club didn’t pursue the deal, with Carlos joining Inter Milan, before signing for Real Madrid and winning thirteen trophies with them.
2. Victor Lindelof
A more modern player, Lindelof currently plays for Manchester United after moving this summer.
Lindelof could have been playing for Aston Villa in 2015, according to the Birmingham Mail, after scouts watched him star in a Sweden side that won the U-21 European Championships.
The now £31m player could have been signed on the cheap, but manager Tim Sherwood supposedly wanted to bring in ‘proven players’ and ended up signing Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott.
1. Wesley Sneijder
Then Villa boss Martin O’Neill attempted to sign the Real Madrid player in 2009, as he was a fan of the playmaker.
He even went as far as to publicly declare his interest in the player.
At one point, Villa were seen as favourites to sign the Dutch International, but he ended up signing for Inter Milan in a £13.2m deal later in the month.
Imagine Sneijder playing alongside Barry Bannan.
Follow us on Twitter @claretandview // Words by Regan Foy (@FindFoy)
