Aston Villa were understandably keen to strengthen their squad following promotion back to the top flight in 2019 but a lot of their signings have proven to be a waste of money.

The likes of Ezri Konsa, Douglas Luiz and Tyrone Mings remain key parts of the squad at Villa Park, whereas less successful signings such as Trezeguet, Ally Samatta and Bjorn Engels have been and gone.

One man who stands out as a really poor piece of business from that summer is former Birmingham City winger Jota.

The Spanish attacker joined Villa in a deal worth a reported £4m, as he became Dean Smith's first signing of that summer’s transfer window, having worked together at Brentford, and was paid £25k-per-week during his time at Villa Park, the majority of which was earned from the bench.

With just 16 appearances under his belt across all competitions before leaving in October 2020 on a free transfer to Spanish club Alaves, the winger ended up costing the Midlands club £250k-per-appearance, while his one goal in all competitions meant that the club paid £4m for the one time he found the back of the net.

In 25 appearances for Alaves, the Spaniard – who described his time with the Villans as “tough” – failed to score even once before being released last summer, and he remains without a club.

It had seemed like a promising signing after he had starred at St Andrew's the previous season, with three goals and 11 assists to his name in the Championship, but he clearly didn't adapt to the Premier League.

It seems as if the move has really damaged what was once a promising career in the Championship with Birmingham and Brentford, where he contributed an impressive 23 goals and 11 assists in 78 appearances, as he has been without a club for some time, with an early retirement potentially on the cards unless another side takes a chance on him.

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It always feels like a risk when a player moves between rival sides and in this case, the divisive move on Villa's part, did not work out at all.