---
title: "Aston Villa missed a transfer masterclass with Otavio"
canonical: "https://readastonvilla.com/2022/09/20/aston-villa-missed-a-transfer-masterclass-with-otavio/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "James Thompson"
section: "Aston Villa News"
published: "2022-09-20T17:30:00Z"
modified: "2026-09-03T11:38:25Z"
---

# Aston Villa missed a transfer masterclass with Otavio

[Aston Villa](https://readastonvilla.com/) have not been shy when it has come to spending money in recent transfer windows to bring new [players](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/aston-villa/alletransfers/verein/405) to the Midlands club.

In fact, according to a [study](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-top-premier-league-25056528) by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), Villa are the Premier League’s biggest overspenders.

The recent summer transfer [window](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/aston-villa/transfers/verein/405) provided another example of how the Villans are able to splash the cash to bolster their squad, with players such as Diego Carlos and Leander Dendoncker joining Steven Gerrard’s ranks.

However, one player that the club were [linked](https://www.abola.pt/nnh/2022-06-30/fc-porto-aston-villa-prepara-oferta-por-otavio-saiba-o-valor/947442) with a £30m move for that ultimately didn’t go through is Otavio.

In [243](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/otavio/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/231289) senior appearances for Porto, the 27-year-old has scored 24 goals and provided 62 assists in the process.

The Portuguese international’s performances last season showed how much of a transfer masterclass it would have been from Johan Lange to secure a deal for him during the recent summer window.

For example, with three goals and 11 assists to his name in 32 league appearances, the winger ended the campaign as Porto’s third-highest rated player with an overall performance rating of 7.44/10 from [WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/297/Archive/Portugal-FC-Porto?stageId=19947).

To put that into perspective, this rating would have made him the highest rated [player](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/24/Archive/England-Aston-Villa?stageId=19793) at Villa for their previous Premier League season by the same metric.

Otavio also ended the previous campaign with the joint-highest average of key passes per game ([2.2](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/297/Archive/Portugal-FC-Porto?stageId=19947)) at the Portuguese club, highlighting just how capable he is of creating goalscoring opportunities for his side.

Bearing in mind how Gerrard’s side currently have the second-lowest number of shot-creating actions ([97](https://fbref.com/en/comps/9/Premier-League-Stats)) in the league so far this season, it’s easy to see how a player like the Porto star would have been a very useful addition to the Midlands club.

[Hailed](https://twitter.com/Aljeeves/status/1507130629602918404?s=20&t=Bklb7BMAYBOFyFfVJHC_tA) as a “phenomenal” player by journalist Alex Goncalves, Otavio would surely have been a star signing for Gerrard and Lange to have pulled off over the summer, which is something that both of them should now be kicking themselves over.