10 Players You Didn't Know Aston Villa Almost Signed
5. Frank Lampard
Aston Villa were going head-to-head with Chelsea for the signature of then-West Ham United midfielder Frank Lampard before he left Upton Park. Even notoriously frugal Villa chairman Doug Ellis ensured the club freed up enough funds for manager John Gregory to match the £11M bid that was put in by the Blues, but the England man opted to remain in London and join local rivals Chelsea. The rest is of course Chelsea history: considering Lampard went on to become the clubs all-time top goalscorer, all while winning three league titles, four FA Cups, two League cups, two Community Shields, one Champions League crown and a Europa League triumph, Lampard's decision to join Chelsea was perhaps somewhat justified. But it's hard not to think that at least some of that success might have come Villa's way if John Gregory had been able to convince the player to sign on.
Crippy Cooke, 23, is a freelance Football Writer contributing to What Culture. He's had work featured on Zoo, MSN, London 24, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and was recently named Writer of the Year on FTBpro - while also a nominee for Best Male Blog in the Football Blogging Awards.
