Aston Villa signed Jordan Veretout from FC Nantes on 31 July 2015 with a number of fans expecting plenty from the midfielder.
Arriving for a fee of £9million under Tim Sherwood, he was expected to be a star in the making for the Villa Park outfit after impressing with his performances in Ligue One.
In the previous campaign, he managed to net seven goals and provide seven assists, giving some of the club’s faithful plenty of excitement about his arrival.
Here are just some of their initial reactions on Twitter:
@AVFCOfficial @LiamC1985 @matty8avfc quality signing
— Gaz Williams (@Gazvilla) July 31, 2015
https://twitter.com/Ozy125/status/627150097856512001
https://twitter.com/WertzLucas/status/627141505896083460
@AVFCOfficial great signing!
— Luke Barber (@LukeBarber87) July 31, 2015
@AVFCOfficial @JVeretout can't wait to see you action!
— Aston (@aston_1997) July 31, 2015
Aston Villa!!! The future is bright!! #avfc #tacticstim #Veretout #amavi #gueye #ayew #Gestede #Richards #ansoon #trusttim
— Patrik Hedin (@PatrikHedin1) July 31, 2015
So happy with this #Veretout #avfc pic.twitter.com/nw9gCuEPaI
— Rob Smith (@Dr_Robert_) July 31, 2015
However, things certainly did not pan out the way the French midfielder would have liked.
In the sole season he was at the club, Veretout did not actually put up too many bad figures, having recorded five assists in his 29 appearances across all competitions, although he did not find the back of the net.
However, it was an awful campaign for The Villans that year, as they were relegated from the Premier League that year, having netted just 27 goals all season.
As mentioned, Veretout was quickly shipped out to Saint-Etienne on a season-long loan before being sold to Fiorentina for a cut-price fee of around £6.3m.
And, Villa fans must now be scratching their heads at how well the 25-year-old is performing in the Serie A.
Now valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the French midfielder has become a crucial member of the Italian outfit and appears to have found his shooting boots once again.
Thriving in the country’s top-flight, he has netted five goals and provided three assists, as they languish in mid-table.
The Villans could certainly do with a player of his ability in the middle of the park as they look to escape the Championship and will be wondering what could have been with the likes of John McGinn partnering up with Veretout.
Aston Villa fans – thoughts?
