Aston Villa may have missed a trick by not signing Bournemouth powerhouse Philip Billing in the summer transfer window.

What was the story?

Goal reported back in the summer that whilst Villa had discussed the possibility of doing a deal with Liverpool for Marko Grujic, the Midlands club were "more likely" to go after Billing in order to strengthen Dean Smith's squad.

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The Denmark international remained at the Vitality Stadium at the close of the transfer window deadline, and when you look at what he could have offered Villa, then it may well go down as a missed opportunity.

Different option for Dean Smith

Standing at 6 foot 6, Billing isn't in the mould of most footballers - in fact, last season, he was on record for being the tallest player in the Premier League.

But despite his height and physicality, the big Dane is equally good with the ball at his feet, and it's something his former manager at Huddersfield, David Wagner, was quick to point out.

He said: "He is a man now. He is mature. That is exactly what he needed to be. He has the technique and the vision, he is 6'6", has an throw in, an unbelievable shot. He has everything, but we always missed a little bit of this fighting gene that he has now got.

"Now he has this he is a very, very big talent. Or more than this - not only is he a talent, but a very, very good player."

And when you look at his performance in Bournemouth's 2-1 victory over Aston Villa back in February, it's clear just how good of a player he is. As well as finding the back of the net, Billing single-handedly ran the Cherries midfield once Jefferson Lerma was sent off, finishing the match with the highest rating of any player on the pitch with 8.3 as per Sofascore.

His Villa opponent on the day, Douglas Luiz, endured a torrid time up against the colossus, losing possession 11 times and winning a measly two duels in the whole 90 minutes. Smith could really have done with a midfielder of Billing's profile this season.