Aston Villa will look to end their stay in the Championship this season, with Dean Smith's side now in the mix for promotion after forcing their way into the top six.

The last few years have been tough by Villa's standards, with poor recruitment at the heart of many of their problems.

Quite simply, they've spent far too much money on players who just haven't delivered.

One of the biggest let downs in that time has been Aaron Tshibola, who joined in the summer of 2016 for around £5m.

Having impressed at Reading, the then 21-year-old was seen as someone who would give the side a real energy and could blossom into their main midfield man for years to come.

That was evident with the replies on twitter to his signing, with many supporters delighted.

Yet, the reality couldn't be any more different. Roberto Di Matteo was the man to bring Tshibola in but he couldn't really make an impact under him and managed just eight appearances.

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When the ex-Chelsea boss was dismissed and Steve Bruce took over, his chances were limited further and he was loaned out to Nottingham Forest in the January window.

Another failed loan spell to Milton Keynes Dons followed for the campaign after but that was cut short and the 24-year-old has spent the past 15 months at Kilmarnock.

Whilst he is making a positive impression north of the border, the reality is that Tshibola will be viewed as one of many expensive Villa mistakes in that time - not how many envisaged it to play out.

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