Aston Villa's worst ever January signings, rated.placeholder image
Aston Villa's worst ever January signings, rated. | Getty Images
Aston Villa have made their fair share of disappointing mid-season signings in recent years
The January transfer window is firmly upon us, which means an opportunity for clubs to add that extra bit of quality which they have been missing in order to push to the next level in the latter stages of the season.
Villa’s January transfer business has not always been so successful, however, particularly in the years before Emery arrived at the club. Several players arrived in January with big expectations but little return on them, some of whom departed the club after just a matter of months.
We decided to take a look at a selection of the worst January transfers made by Aston Villa in recent years, and rate the impact each player made at Villa Park.
Rating Aston Villa’s worst January transfers of all time
Philippe Coutinho: Probably the most high-profile name on this list, Philippe Coutinho arrived at Aston Villa on loan from Barcelona in 2022 to significant fanfare. Formerly a Liverpool hero who had signed for La Blaugrana for a fee rising to £142 million just four years prior, Coutinho delivered a modest return of five goals in 19 matches but was a resounding flop when his loan move was made permanent for £17m at the beginning of the following season. Rating: 5/10
Ally Samatta: Though he is a name Villans fans have likely forgotten about, the striker was once the first Tanzanian to sign for a Premier League club in 2020 when he arrived for £8.5m in the winter window. With Villa deep in a relegation battle, the former Genk frontman was signed to help score the goals to fire the Villans to safety.
He made a promising start with a goal on his league debut and another in EFL Cup final defeat to Manchester City, but he would not score again despite making 13 starts and departed for Fenerbahce that September. Thankfully, Villa stayed up despite Samatta’s lack of contribution. Rating: 3/10
Jean Makoun: All the way back in 2011, Villa secured the signing of midfielder Makoun in January in a £6.2m deal from Lyon. He came with considerable pedigree, a Cameroon international who had made 241 Ligue 1 appearances and 49 in European competitions with Lyon and Lille.
Just two weeks after making his league debut, Makoun was sent off with a straight red card for a tackle on Blackpool’s DJ Campbell, and missed the next three matches. He struggled to find his way back into the Villa side after that, ultimately going out on two loan spells and seeing his work permit delayed, before departing Villa Park permanently in 2013 after just 11 appearances for the club. Rating: 2/10
More of Aston Villa’s worst January buys
Borja Baston: Somewhat of a panic buy in the same window Villa signed Samatta, fellow striker Baston signed from Swansea City and was somehow even less effective. Despite scoring just six Championship goals in the first half of the season, the Spaniard made the step up to the top flight on a free transfer. A meagre two appearances later, Baston was released in summer 2020 and ended up in the Spanish Segunda División. Rating: 1/10
Danny Drinkwater: Keeping with the theme of emergency buys who were quickly forgotten about, Drinkwater arrived on loan from Chelsea in 2020 in what was a highly unsuccessful January of business. The former Premier League winner with Leicester City made just four appearances for the Villans and was reportedly told to leave the training ground on 11 March after an altercation where he directed a head-butt at team-mate Jota. Rating: 1/10
Other notable mentions include Scott Sinclair, who made little impact on loan from Manchester City in 2015 and yet joined on a permanent deal the next summer; Henri Lansbury, who signed for £3m in the Championship having been a star at Nottingham Forest but made just 41 league appearances in four years at the club before seeing his contract terminated; and Yacouba Sylla, a midfielder who arrived from France with big expectations in 2013 but made just 22 appearances and departed on loan 18 months later.
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