10 Players Who Probably Regret Joining Aston Villa

By the age of 23, Nigel Reo-Coker had made over 200 appearances and been a regular in the England Under-21 setup for four years but his decision to leave West Ham United for Aston Villa proved the wrong one and it ultimately led to him not fulfilling his potential.

He had looked for reassurances over his future at Upton Park after helping the club survive in the Premier League and after not getting the answers he desired, he left for Villa for a transfer fee of £8.5m.

Reo-Coker helped Villa to three successive sixth-place finishes in the top flight but he found himself playing in a number of positions and he wasn't proving a threat in front of goal. He managed 11 goals during his time at West Ham but just three with Villa.

When his contract expired in 2011, Reo-Coker decided to leave the club for Bolton Wanderers but he could not prevent the North-West outfit from suffering relegation from the Premier League.

You could argue that Reo-Coker regretted leaving Villa but his peak years came during West Ham and he must wonder how his career would have paned out had he been more patient in East London.