Aston Villa have not been shy when it has come to signing players from fellow English clubs over the years.
However, one such player with whom the Villans were linked but they must now regret missing out on is Arnaut Danjuma.
Praised by his former Bournemouth boss Jonathan Woodgate for his “unbelievable” movement on the pitch, Danjuma currently has 53 senior club goals to his name.
In the summer of 2021, Villa reportedly submitted a transfer enquiry to sign the attacker from the Cherries, for whom he played at the time. This enquiry ultimately came to nothing, though, and Danjuma ended up moving to Spanish outfit Villarreal in a deal worth £21.3m.
Since joining his current club, the Dutchman has scored 16 goals and delivered four assists in 36 appearances across all competitions. Some of those goals came in La Liga against clubs like Atletico Madrid and Valencia, along with a few in the Champions League against the likes of Juventus and Bayern Munich.
This highlights the attacking talent that he has and the ability to showcase that talent on the big stage against some of Europe’s top teams.
To further showcase his prowess in front of goal, the 25-year-old ended his debut season in Spain with more shots at goal (59) and shots on target (25) than any other player at Villarreal.
Bearing in mind how only two clubs have had fewer shots on target than Steven Gerrard’s side (20) so far in the Premier League this season, it’s safe to say that having a player like Danjuma in their squad would have helped them become a deadlier team in front of goal.
Taking all this into account, we feel that Johan Lange missed a trick by not securing a move for the former Bournemouth star when he had the chance to do so.
