From the heights of European success in the early 1980’s to the lows of mid-table mediocrity in the Championship recent years, Aston Villa have had their fair share of ups and downs in the 143 year history of the club.
The Claret and Blue Army were last relegated to the Championship in 2016 after finishing bottom of the Premier League standings, and have found their first season back in the second tier of English football hard to adapt to, finishing 13th.
But, last season saw Steve Bruce’s side come 90 minutes away from success, losing 1-0 in the Championship play-off final at the hands of Slavisa Jokanovic’s Fulham.
Bruce, who has been in charge of the Villans since October 2016, has made some strong additions to the Villa side in recent times, but has also acquired some questionable players too.
With that in mind, we discuss Aston Villa’s worst signing from the last three years.
Alfie Burns
For the fee involved, it has to be Ross McCormack.
The striker isn’t the worst player to pass through Villa Park, but he hasn’t had a good impact and cost Villa a fortune.
The sooner he is out the better.
Christian Fuller
Nyland.
Sam Johnstone was one of the main reasons why Aston Villa found themselves in such a strong position last season, just missing out on promotion. With incredible distribution, shot stopping and reflexes, the goalkeeper is undoubtedly a top keeper.
The expectations that he bought to the club last season just cannot be matched and with Nyland, a Steve Bruce summer purchase, not the same calibre keeper as Johnstone, the Claret and Blue Army may struggle in this area throughout the campaign.
Chris Gallagher
There's a lot of competition for this but you'd have to go for Ross McCormack.
He was supposed to score the goals that would take Villa back to the Premier League but failed to fit in at the club.
As well as that, his well-documented fallout with Steve Bruce means he's barely featured in the past 18 months, all whilst taking home a massive salary. A massive financial mistake.