Back in 2016, Aston Villa were relegated from the Premier League for the first time in their history, and the skies above Villa Park looked very bleak indeed.
And flagging fortunes were nailed in by a veritable hammer following former manager Paul Lambert’s revelation during an interview with The Express, stating the club attempted to sign several big names during his tenure, one being prolific hotshot Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
He stated that had he been granted his wishes the likes of Aubameyang, who then plied his trade with Borussia Dortmund in Germany, might’ve signed for the midlands outfit and steered the ship in a direction more befitting of a club of such high stature.
During his time with the Yellow Wall, the Gabonese striker amassed 141 goals and 36 assists across just 213 outings, winning the DFB Pokal and two DFL-Supercup trophies.
Following his exploits in the German Bundesliga, the “phenomenal” talisman – as dubbed by Mikel Arteta – earned a high-profile transfer to Arsenal, where he continued his golden goal-scoring touch with 92 goals and 21 assists across only 163 appearances.
In his most prolific campaign for the north London giants, the 2018/19 term, Aubameyang plundered 31 goals and eight assists from 51 displays, including a 22-goal haul in the Premier League that won him the division’s Golden Boot, sharing the individual honour alongside Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
In a career capped off by a stint with FC Barcelona, before arriving back in England this summer to serve as Chelsea’s centre-forward, the 33-year-old will go down as one of the most devastating finishers of his generation.
This level of clinical prowess would have provided Aston Villa with a focal point up front to add a sheen to their offensive drive that almost certainly could have been the catalyst for a shift in momentum, a turning of the tide to lift the club back towards prominence.
Notably, Villa’s stunning 2014/15 FA Cup run, where the club ultimately lost 4-0 to the Gunners in the finale, could have recorded a very different outcome had Lambert been granted his prior wish of installing a striker into the team with world-class credentials, bringing silverware back to to the club for the first time since the 1995/96 term, where the club won their fifth English League Cup.
Almost a decade ago, when the Claret and Blue seemingly had their interest in the forward, the Villa hierarchy were not to know that he would go on to have such an impressive career laden in goals, but the club’s fortunes might have been very different indeed had they forged ahead with what would have been a monumental deal.