Aston Villa, being the illustrious club they are, have tempted plenty of high-profile talent to the Midlands over the years.

The proud winner of seven English titles, one European cup and numerous domestic trophies, it made their relegation in 2016 all the more shocking.

Especially considering how it came just seven years after they nearly signed one of the best midfielders of this generation.

Back in 2009, Wesley Sneijder was coming off the back of an underwhelming season for Real Madrid where he had scored just twice. The financially-troubled Spanish club saw him as a profitable asset that they could afford to lose and slapped a £20m price tag on the Dutchman.

With Inter Milan refusing to stump up the cash, the Daily Mail reported Villa as the favourite for his signature with Martin O'Neill in charge.

However, as we all know he did eventually make the move to Italy, for a fee of around £15m.

It was at La Beneamata where he truly began to shine, as he played an integral role in their sensational treble-winning season.

OTGA of Wesley Sneijder

He would score eight and assist 15 across all three competitions that they won, and also provided an assist to Diego Milito for his opener in the Champions League final. This campaign also saw him awarded Midfielder of the Year.

His sensational season wasn’t done there, however, as he played nearly every minute in his country’s run to the World Cup final.

His illustrious career that ended with plenty of silverware led Roberto Mancini to dub him a “champion and a fantastic player."

The 38-year-old would go on to excel at almost every club he played for, with particularly outstanding performances for Galatasaray. He scored 45 times and assisted 44 in 175 games for the Turkish giants before eventually retiring in 2019 at Qatari club Al-Gharafa.

He still holds the record for most caps for the Netherlands, with an astounding 134.

Sneijder will likely always be remembered as one of the classiest yet deadly midfielders of the era, with journalist Luis Miguel Echegaray labelling him a “legend” in 2018.

Whilst he was winning numerous trophies, Villa are yet to win one major honour since and have suffered a spell in the Championship too.

Had they just forked out the asking price in 2009, perhaps he could have been the catalyst to spurring them on to all kinds of success, instead of the mediocrity they have suffered through.