Aston Villa reportedly rejected the chance to sign Joao Palhinha during the 2021 summer transfer window before he eventually moveD to fellow Premier League side Fulham this year. 

The Lowdown: Villa's transfer activity

The Midlands club have been rather busy during previous transfer windows in terms of the number of players who have moved in and out of Villa Park.

Looking back over the summer 2022 transfer window, Villa splashed the cash to bring in Diego Carlos, Philippe Coutinho and Leander Dendoncker, along with signing Boubacar Kamara on a free transfer and securing loan deals for the likes of Jan Bednarek and Ludwig Augustinsson.

However, it appears that the Villans turned down the opportunity to sign another player the previous summer who has now gone on to become a solid Premier League figure.

The Latest: Villa turned down Palhinha

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Palhinha had been lined up for a move to the English top flight for over a year before he joined Fulham, with Wolves reportedly having him on their radar in 2021 in addition to the player being offered to Villa.

The report adds that the Villans turned down the opportunity to pursue the midfielder.

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The Verdict: A mistake from Villa?

Since joining the west London club back rom Sporting Lisbon in July in a deal worth a reported fee of around £17m, the 27-year-old has settled into the Premier League with ease.

With only Tim Ream racking up more minutes in the league at Craven Cottage than Palhinha, who will be in action for Portugal during the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, this shows just how important he is for Marco Silva.

Across his 14 league appearances, the £60k-per-week midfielder has the second-highest number of passes into the final third of the pitch (55) at Fulham, as well as the highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (78) in the entire top flight.

This highlights what the Portuguese gem has been able to offer on and off the ball, and why his performances have been labelled "outstanding" by journalist Mark Carruthers.

Taking all that into account, there's definitely a cause for regret as to whether Villa made the wrong decision by not looking to sign the player when they had the chance, given how impressive he has been this season.