Exactly how much money have Aston Villa spent on new players in this millennium?
Aston Villa have traditionally been a force to be reckoned with in the English top flight, while they are also one of only five English clubs to have won the European Cup.
They have not quite been able to scale those heights in recent years, however, and they even found themselves back in the Championship at some point.
They are now looking to re-establish themselves as a Premier League household name and they have not hesitated to spend big in order to get there.
Villa have spent well over £400 million in the last four seasons alone and even managed to bring in former Liverpool and Barcelona ace Philippe Coutinho to further highlight their ambitions.
But who are their most expensive transfers since the turn of the millennium and how much have they spent each campaign?
Aston Villa most expensive transfers by season
SEASON
MOST EXPENSIVE SIGNING
FEE
TOTAL SPENDING
2022-23
Diego Carlos
£27.90M
£63M
2021-22
Emiliano Buendia
£34.56M
£116.84M
2020-21
Ollie Watkins
£30.60
£91.22M
2019-20
Wesley Moraes
£22.50M
£143.55M
2018-19
Lovre Kalinic
£5.40M
£17.19M
2017-18
Glenn Whelan
£1.53M
£2.52M
2016-17
Ross McCormack
£12.87M
£76.95M
2015-16
Jordan Ayew
£10.80M
£59.90M
2014-15
Carlos Sanchez
£5.40M
£12.11M
2013-14
Libor Kozak
£5.85M
£17.86M
2012-13
Christian Benteke
£7.92M
£25.05M
2011-12
Charles N'Zogbia
£9.72M
£18.30M
2010-11
Darren Bent
£19.35M
£33.66M
2009-10
Stewart Downing
£11.70M
£42.21M
2008-09
James Milner
£13.50M
£50.31M
2007-08
Nigel Reo-Coker
£11.25M
£22.41M
2006-07
Ashley Young
£11.88M
£22.23M
2005-06
Milan Baros
£7.96M
£14.89M
2004-05
Martin Laursen
£4.77M
£9.13M
2003-04
Gavin McCann
£3.04M
£7.54M
2002-03
Marcus Allback
£2.70M
£8.17M
2001-02
Bosko Balaban
£7.02M
£24.49M
2000-01
Juan Pablo Angel
£12.96M
£19.01M
Total
£898.54M
Aston Villa's top 10 most expensive player signingsGetty Images10Philippe Coutinho | £18m | Barcelona | 2022
After an underwhelming spell at Barcelona, Coutinho joined Aston Villa on loan in January 2022 in an attempt to revive his career, reuniting with former Liverpool team-mate and then manager Steven Gerrard.
Coutinho made his debut on January 15, scoring an equaliser against Manchester United in a 2-2 draw in the Premier League.
His impressive performances throughout the second half of the 2021-22 season saw him signed permanently for just £18 million from Barcelona in the summer window of 2022 in probably one of the greatest bargains of the transfer window.
AdvertisementGetty Images9Darren Bent | £19.35m | Sunderland | 2010
Bent played for Aston Villa between 2011 to 2015 after joining from Sunderland in controversial fashion.
The attacker submitted a transfer request to Sunderland in January 2011 when Villa made a club-record £18 million bid for him, which was rejected.
The Birmingham giants then improved their offer to £19.35m, potentially rising to £24 million, which was accepted before Bent signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Villa.
Bent made 61 appearances for the club, scoring 21 goals.
Getty8Tyrone Mings | £20m | Bournemouth | 2019
Mings arrived at Aston Villa on loan from Bournemouth in January 2019, before signing permanently for them at the end of the season for £20m.
The defender scored his first goal for Villa in only his second game for the club against Sheffield United, where they were losing 3-0 but went on to complete a comeback and draw 3-3.
Slowly, Mings became a fan favourite at the club, signing a new four-year deal in September 2020.
Aston Villa FC7Wesley Moraes | £22.5m | Club Brugge | 2019
Wesley signed for Aston Villa in the summer of 2019 for £22.5m and scored his first Villa goal in his third appearance – a 2-0 win against Everton.
In January 2020, he suffered a severe cruciate knee ligament injury after a horror tackle from Burnley's Ben Mee.
His injury was initially predicted to take around nine months to recover from, but it was later found that the damage was more severe and he spent even longer on the sidelines.
He returned to football in March 2021, playing his first few games after a long layoff before returning to Club Brugge in the summer on a season-long loan.
In January 2022, he was recalled and loaned to Brazilian club Internacional for a year, only to be recalled from his temporary spell prematurely once again, before he was eventually sent on loan to Levante ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.