New Recruits
Aston Villa and
David Beckham have spent a total of 24 million on transfers, and the spectacular thing is, it's not even August.
The Villans have done their transfers early with Beckham intending to strengthen the squad for their upcoming campaign.
"We want to finally have a shot at getting to the Champions' League this season," Beckham stated in June. "That's why we will need players. Good players, strong players, to help us with that."
Thus, a total of 24 million has been spent on five incoming players of different nationalities.
The first up is 24-year-old Italian keeper
Francesco Bardi, who comes in right after the departure of his compatriot
Mattia Perrin. Although he failed to make an appearance in the tournament, he was called up to the Italy squad for Euro 2016, demonstrating his potential to be one of Italy's best. Bardi comes in on a free transfer from Inter, after Villa approached him in January before the Milan side could persuade him to sign a new contract. Bardi will put increased pressure on
Samir Handanovic and challenge for the number one.
Next is another goalkeeper. 18-year-old Brazilian
Nilson was first spotted by Aston Villa scouts two years ago and has finally made the move to the big time, joining from Brazilian Second Division side Sao Caetano for 300k. A talented young man, he is expected to make a quick ascend to the senior squad.
Another youngster, 16-year-old Belgian
Jean-Luc Laurent joins from Mouscron-Peruwelz in the Belgian Second League, for a fee of 220k. The attacking midfielder will slot straight into the Under-18s side and is expected to become a big hit in the next couple of years.
Marilia, or Fabio Henrique de Oliveira Alves, has joined from Corinthians. The 18-year-old Brazilian was starting to make his breakthrough into the first-team when Beckham was alerted by Villa scouts to the talent of the defensive midfielder at the end of the season. Activating his hefty release clause of 10.75 million, Marilia is expected to start out as a rotation player at Villa Park, although with his versatility and ability to play in a number of roles, it remains to be seen where Beckham will primarily play the natural midfielder in.
However, the biggest signing out of the five is Turkish winger
Gokmen Hacieyupoglu. The 21-year-old Turkey international almost joined Aston Villa three years ago but failed to due to work permit issues. Fast forward and he is now an established first-team player for Galatasaray. With Manchester United reportedly interested in him, Aston Villa have moved fast, with Beckham coughing up his release clause of 13 million to see the youngster finally arrive at Villa Park. He is expected to be first-choice on the right wing, and this will undoubtedly raise questions over the future of
Theo Walcott at Villa.