Aston Villa have had a few interesting transfer near misses over the years.
Emmanuel Adebayor nearly signed for Villa at one point, while Charlie Adam almost signed for Aston Villa instead of Liverpool in 2011.
Now, another former Premier League star has admitted that he could’ve signed for Villa at one point.
Indeed, speaking on The World Class Stamp Podcast, James Beattie has been reviewing his career, and he says that he held talks with Aston Villa when he left Southampton to join Everton.
Back in the 2000s, Beattie was a reliable source of Premier League goals, netting 91 times during his top-flight career.
James Beattie spoke to Aston Villa before joining Everton
Beattie spoke about his departure from Southampton.
The striker says that Harry Redknapp decided to sell him as soon as he arrived on the south coast, claiming that he had a conversation with Aston Villa before eventually moving to Everton.
“You moved from Southampton then to Everton, which manager was at the time? Moisey would have been, yeah. He’s obviously back there now.
“Was it Redknapp at Southampton that sort of was initiated the transfer or whatever happened there was?” Beattie was asked.
“So, yeah. So, Harry, Harry came in, and first thing, first conversation we had, he went, Beattie, I’m going to have to sell you, you’re my only saleable asset,” Beattie said.
“And then he said, you know, I’m sure there’d be no shortage of suitors. And I spoke to Aston Villa and Everton (who he signed for).”
James Beattie stats for Everton
Beattie was one of English football’s hotter properties in the early 2000s.
Indeed, Beattie hit 23 league goals in a single season for Southampton in 2002/03, hence why Aston Villa wanted to sign him.
However, Beattie didn’t quite carry that form over to Everton, and it’s fair to say that Villa had a bit of a lucky escape here.
| James Beattie stats for Everton | |
|---|---|
| Games | 86 |
| Goals | 16 |
| Assists | 4 |
Villa would struggle for strikers around this period. Milan Baros and Kevin Phillips would arrive at Villa Park, but fail to make much of an impact.
Gabriel Agbonlahor would eventually come through the Villa academy and become a star and a future England international, while Beattie would never add to his five England caps after getting his move to Goodison Park.
