Aston Villa's most expensive summer transfer signings ever - including £33m hero and £52m one-season wonder

Aston Villa have been on a remarkable rise in recent years. From bottom-half dwellers just a handful of years ago, Unai Emery has truly transformed the club into regular European challengers.

Villa have dished out some big outlays for players down the years, but their rise has nevertheless been largely organic, with no crazy influx of cash or £300m spree in one summer. Instead, solid investments have been made over a period of time and, coupled with a game-changing managerial appointment in 2022 in Emery, success has gradually followed.

With the transfer window firmly open for business and the Villains poised to make some big moves, it’s time to take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of Villa’s biggest purchases to date. Some players have been more successful than others, with one or two surprises sure to come as we analyse how smart the Villa Park outfit have really been with their money.

5) Ollie Watkins - £33m (2020)

In no doubt one of the most transformational signings of Aston Villa’s new era, Ollie Watkins arrived from then-Championship club Brentford for a fee rising to £33m including add-ons. Watkins was Villa’s record signing at the time, as was the case with the majority on this list, and it was viewed as a huge outlay for a player with no top-flight experience.

But Watkins impressed from the jump. Incredibly, his first Premier League goals were a perfect hat-trick scored against reigning Premier League champions Liverpool in a stunning Covid-time 7-2 defeat at Villa Park. The Exeter academy product ended the season on 14 league goals and has not fallen below double figures in any of his five seasons in the Premier League. Watkins’ most prolific season came in 2023/24, when he scored 19 Premier League goals and added another eight in the Conference League as Villa finished fourth in the league and reached the Conference League semi-finals on their return to Europe. Still just 29, if he remains at Villa Park Watkins still has plenty of time to make that transfer fee seem like even more of a bargain.

4) Ian Maatsen - £37.5m (2024)

Next up is Ian Maatsen, somewhat of an outlier on this list as he was signed for a huge fee despite being relatively unproven at the top level, signed from Chelsea as a 22-year-old after a brief loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, where he admittedly competed in the final of the Champions League.

There were murmurings that this was one of a series of deals which were inflated for PSR reasons, with Omari Kellyman - who had just two senior appearances - going the other way the same summer in a £19m deal. Maatsen had a mixed first campaign at Villa Park, often appearing off the bench with just 10 Premier League starts and one goal in the victory against Newcastle United in April. Still a young player with potential to grow and develop under Emery, this could yet become a smart buy as time goes on.

3) Emiliano Buendía - £38m (2021)

The second player on this list signed under former manager Dean Smith, Buendía was also a club-record signing at the time after he arrived from promoted Norwich City for £38m. Such a price spent on a player who had just been plying his trade in the Championship, with just one Premier League goal in his only previous top-flight season, raised further eyebrows, but Villa were confident having seen the success of Watkins the previous season.

Unfortunately, Buendía has seen his Villa career severely limited by injuries, while flattering to deceive when he did feature regularly under Smith and successor Steven Gerrard. The one-cap Argentine international managed just nine goals and eight assists in two full seasons at Villa Park before a horrific ACL injury kept him out for the entirety of the 2023/24 season.

The reality is that, when Buendía returned to the first-team squad at the beginning of the last campaign, the Villa project had moved on and it proved difficult for him to get back into the side. After making 12 brief substitute appearances and zero Premier League starts, Buendía went out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen in January, where he featured 14 times and scored two goals. It remains to be seen whether Buendía will be given a chance to be in Emery’s plans at Villa moving forward, but either way the creative midfielder is unlikely to repay his significant transfer fee.

2) Amadou Onana - £50m (2024)

The most recent transfer on this list, Amadou Onana broke the £50m barrier but may still prove to be worth every penny. Still just 23 years old, Onana is a commanding presence in the centre of the park and popped up with a career-best five goals in his first season at Villa Park. The Belgian international had grown frustrated under Sean Dyche at Everton but has returned to his best at Villa, and could still become a whole lot better in the future.

Onana already has 22 Belgium appearances to his name, playing every minute for his country at Euro 2024. During the tournament he was subject of a viral clip where he hit back at a journalist for confusing him with Manchester United goalkeeper Andre - “Andre’s not even my name mate, do you know what I mean?” - as Amadou spoke with the confidence of a man more than accustomed to the British culture. His confidence on the pitch has led Villa fans to believe Onana has been a good signing, though only time will tell how well he matches up to the Villains’ other record buys.

1) Moussa Diaby - £51.9m (2023)

Taking top spot is Moussa Diaby, who joined for a record £51.9m fee including add-ons from Bayer Leverkusen in summer 2023. Reuniting with former PSG manager Emery, the signing of Diaby caused a lot of hype and was seen as a statement move as Aston Villa looked to become regular European challengers.

While the move did achieve its goal to an extent, as Villa reached the Champions League in the Frenchman’s first season at the club, but this was not enough for him to stick around at Villa Park very long. Diaby struck 10 goals in all competitions, six in the Premier League in addition to 10 assists, which was a solid return in a successful team. But feeling began to grow that his form had dipped after Christmas, and Emery evidently did not feel that he was an essential member of his side. Diaby was sold to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad in summer 2024 for around €60m, meaning Villa got back the money they paid for him, and the short chapter of the club’s record signing was over.