Aston Villa had second debuts for two players in their 1-0 loss to Brentford last time out in the Premier League, as Tammy Abraham and Douglas Luiz both started.
They have both returned to Villa Park for second spells at the club, from Besiktas and Juventus respectively, and it was almost a dream start for Abraham, before his goal against the Bees was ruled out by VAR for the ball going out of play at the other end of the pitch.
As both players have already played for the club, Villa more or less know what they are going to get from them and they should, in theory, be solid additions to the squad.
The Villans have not had many roaring successes with signings in recent seasons. Their most expensive signing last summer, Evann Guessand, has left to sign for Crystal Palace on loan after six months at the club.
evann-guessand-aston-villa
Amadou Onana was signed from Everton for £50m in the summer of 2024, but he has only started 32 Premier League games since the start of last season.
The club are still looking for their next big hit in the transfer market since they signed Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough in January 2024, as he has gone on to score 26 goals and provide 24 assists in 104 appearances, establishing himself as an England international.
Aston Villa make bid for LaLiga star
Rogers has been a huge success at Villa Park because he is now an established first-team star for Unai Emery, playing week-in-week-out and making a big impact on the pitch.
The club are now reportedly looking at a deal for a player who could be their best piece of business since they raided Middlesbrough for the English attacking midfielder.
According to a report from Spain, Aston Villa are interested in a last-gasp deal to sign Real Madrid central defender Dean Huijsen before the deadline.
The report claims that the Villans and Newcastle have both made offers of £35m to sign the Spain international in the last few hours of the transfer window.
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It adds, though, that the Spanish giants do not want to cash in on the former Bournemouth defender and have closed the door to a transfer after holding talks with Villa and Newcastle.
Now it remains to be seen whether or not the club will go back in with another offer in an attempt to change Real's mind, or if they will wait till the summer window.
Why Huijsen would be Villa's best signing since Rogers
As aforementioned, Villa have not had too many major transfer success stories since they brought Rogers in from Middlesbrough, but they could make Huijsen their best piece of business since the Englishman if they can get a deal done for him.
Morgan-Rogers-Aston-Villa
Whilst it may not happen today, given Real Madrid's stance, a deal to sign the Spanish central defender would be a big coup for the club, given that he signed for the LaLiga giants for £52m, per this latest Spanish report, last summer.
The 20-year-old defender played 32 times in the Premier League for Bournemouth last term and has played 24 matches in all competitions this season for Real Madrid, which speaks to his quality and consistency.
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Huijsen's performances in England for the Cherries in the 2024/25 campaign suggest that he would arrive at Villa Park as a big upgrade on Pau Torres in the left-sided centre-back role.
The former Roma star plays on the left side of the defence, despite being a right-footed player, and could join as the long-term successor to his international teammate.
Premier League Huijsen (24/25) Torres (25/26)
Appearances 32 15
Goals 3 0
Tackles + interceptions per game 2.7 1.7
Clearances per game 6.1 3.2
Duels won per game 3.6 3.1
Aerial duel success rate 61% 57%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Huijsen is more efficient in his aerial duels and makes more defensive interventions each game to stop opposition attacks for his side.
The Spanish youngster, who has scored one goal for Real Madrid this season, also showed that he can be a threat at the other end of the pitch in the Premier League, with three goals.
Huijsen could, therefore, offer more than Torres at both ends of the pitch whilst also being nine years younger and having plenty of time left ahead of him to develop.
This means that he could follow in Rogers' footsteps by becoming a key star for Villa at a very young age, possibly also making him the club's best signing since they bought the Englishman.