Aston Villa decided to make a change in the dugout shortly before the break for the 2022 World Cup as they axed Steven Gerrard and brought in Unai Emery.

The English head coach had only won two of his 11 Premier League matches in charge - losing six - and this led to Johan Lange cutting ties with the ex-Rangers boss.

Along with his poor record on the pitch, Gerrard also had issues in the transfer market with one nightmare signing being that of Jan Bednarek.

How did Jan Bednarek's spell at Aston Villa go?

On the 1st of September, Villa announced the signing of the Polish central defender on a season-long loan from rivals Southampton, with no option or obligation to sign him permanently.

At the time of the move, Gerrard said:

"I’m delighted to get them [Bednarek and Dendoncker] in. It was a challenge because they were very much in demand. So, for them to choose Villa [was] important.

"Both players bring vital Premier League and international experience, they bring profile and stature. The work behind the scenes to get them done was crucial, so well done to those people."

Instead of using his 'vital' experience to be a useful player for Villa, Bednarek featured in just three Premier League matches for the club - starting once - in the first half of the campaign.

The defender averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.32 in that time, which currently places him in 20th place in the squad with that showing how poor the Pole was when called upon.

Southampton then decided to recall the centre-back in January with the 26-year-old having spent just shy of five months at Villa Park before departing.

Bednarek is reportedly on £60k-per-week and spent around 19 weeks at the club, meaning that the defensive flop cost NSWE over £1.1m for a loan deal that ended up being a complete disaster from start to finish.

The dud, who journalist Jacob Tanswell claimed has a "penchant" for defensive howlers, rarely featured for the Villans and produced woeful displays in the few matches that he did play, which may have left Emery feeling relieved with Southampton's decision to recall him in the winter window.

Indeed, Gerrard certainly had a mare when agreeing to this move; it was simply money down the drain as far as NSWE are concerned.