It’s the excitement and the mystery around overseas signings that creates all the hype.
When Wesley joined Aston Villa for a record-breaking £22 million from Club Brugge last summer, social media became a claret and blue frenzy. A Brazilian centre-forward moving for a huge amount of money — well, he must be good then.
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And that’s what has happened year after year. It’s not exclusive to Villa, of course. Foreigners arrive from all areas of the world to line up for Premier League clubs yet for most supporters, they only really end up finding out what they’re made of after watching them play in England.
It’s too early to judge Wesley, of course. He’s out for the season with a serious knee injury but still has plenty of time to make an impact in the Midlands.
But a host of other players from abroad have passed through the revolving doors at Villa Park to varying degrees of success or failure over the last 20 years, though.
The Athletic has picked five of the best and will leave it down to you to decide who tops the lot as Aston Villa’s greatest overseas recruit since 2000.
In chronological order, the first and maybe best value-for-money signing was Thomas Hitzlsperger.
Nicknamed “Der Hammer” for his fierce long-ranging shooting ability, the German midfielder arrived from Bayern Munich’s youth team in 2000 on a free transfer.
Wincing as he recalls the mischievous way he “sneaked” away from Bayern to go on trial at Villa — Hitzlsperger is now the CEO of Stuttgart and believes in setting the right example for the youngsters at his club — the former Germany international tells The Athletic: “I didn’t tell my manager at the time that I would spend a week in Birmingham to train with Villa.
“It came out unexpectedly as I trained well that week for Villa. The message got across to Munich and when Uli Hoeness (general manager) found out, they wanted me to come back and they weren’t happy I didn’t tell them.”
Hitzlsperger was nervous but impressed on his very first training session and didn’t look back.
“The word goes around that this guy is from Bayern Munich — ‘Why is he here? How good is he?'” he explains.
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“I had a strong left foot and could score goals from everywhere, even in training, and that impressed people. I got a lot of nice compliments and that’s how it all started.”
Hitzlsperger ended up signing for Villa because he hadn’t penned a professional contract at Bayern. He couldn’t speak English but soon picked it up from his team-mates and locals in Sutton Coldfield where he resided, before going on to star for the club.
In 114 appearances, he scored 12 goals, including memorable strikes against West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, among others.
Not far behind him was Olof Mellberg, a defender who built such a strong bond with the supporters that he decided to buy every fan who travelled to his last Villa game a replica shirt with the words “Mellberg — Thanks 4 The Support” on the back.
The big-bearded Swedish international was class personified; a warrior of a centre-half who spent seven seasons at the club and became a cult hero. He had a turn of pace that would get him out of trouble and also read the game superbly.
John Gregory watched him playing for former club Racing Santander in a tough outing against Real Madrid which prompted him to move for him.
The former Villa Park boss recalls Mellberg’s first day at Villa: “It was a warm, sunny day and we decided to have a game of cricket on the AstroTurf pitch as a gentle start to our pre-season preparations.
“Olof admitted he had never played before, and it showed. He was hopeless. We tried to show him how to bat and how to bowl but he didn’t know which end of the bat to hold!
“It was quite a strange introduction to Premier League football for him but once we got down to more serious business, Olof was immense.”
While some of his team-mates describe him as “moody and miserable at times”, Villa supporters always managed to see the best in him. He would dedicate extra time in his day to sign autographs for supporters and it was a sad day when he moved to Juventus in the summer of 2008.
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Then came Martin Laursen, the Great Dane from AC Milan, who signed in 2004.
Had it not been for a niggling knee injury that sidelined him for long spells during his time at the club, he could have gone on to become one of the greatest defenders of his generation.
He was also adored by Villa fans as, like Mellberg, he read the game superbly but was also dominant in the air and chipped in with important goals at the other end along the way.
Asked why he moved to Villa instead of Everton, Charlton or Feyenoord, who were all in for him, Laursen told The Athletic: “I could feel that English football was for me from day one and when I went to Villa, everything seemed right.
“Everton only wanted me on a one-year loan deal but I wanted to find a new place to play permanently. I was desperate to try myself in England after six years in Italy and looking back, I played the best football of my career at Villa.
“I’m just still a bit annoyed that I had to finish a bit too early.”
For every Laursen and Mellberg, though, there was a Najwan Ghrayib or Mathieu Berson. Villa have had their fair share of duds from abroad but it’s the success stories that leave a lasting impression.
John Carew certainly fell into the latter bracket. Signed from Lyon in a swap deal with Milan Baros, the towering forward linked up well with Gabby Agbonlahor and produced plenty of memorable moments.
Now a good friend of the future King of England, Prince William, Carew was very much interested in mixing with famous people during his playing days but he still banged in 37 goals in 113 Premier League games to make a name for himself on his own merits.
Ex-boss Martin O’Neill favoured British players when he was in charge and the managers since struggled to pick up many bargains on the continent. For many Villa fans, though, Christian Benteke is recognised as the best import of the last 20 years.
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The big Belgian who went on to bag 42 goals in 89 Premier League games after arriving in the summer of 2012 when Paul Lambert had just taken over.
Benteke was actually on the radar before that and was indeed known to former boss Alex McLeish, who could have done with having him around during his difficult tenure.
There were times when he was too hot to handle, as Jack Grealish recalls: “I loved playing with him because his movement was brilliant and we used to link up well.”
Opponents would bounce off Benteke — mind you, none quite in the way that Chris Smalling did — and he was reliable from the penalty spot, even if he cocky and arrogant technique often left you fearing the worst.
When he left Villa in 2015, he could have moved to almost any club in the world, such were his qualities, and while it hasn’t worked out as well as he would have liked since, the Crystal Palace striker still has a special place in the hearts of those who regularly visit Villa Park.
Honourable mentions should go to Juan Pablo Angel, who also became a cult hero during his time at the club and had one red-hot season in 2003-04. Wilfred Bouma was a solid left-back, who performed well until sustaining a lengthy injury and Idrissa Gueye was the best of a bad bunch in 2015-16, who has since gone on to bigger and better things.
But it’s between the five already mentioned, so get voting and leave your comments below.
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(Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
