10 Players Who Probably Regret Joining Aston Villa

When Bosko Balaban burst onto the scene at Dinamo Zagreb with 14 goals in 27 games, he became one of the hottest properties in Europe and he was eventually signed by Aston Villa for a fee of £5.8m.

The 23-year-old had already netted six times for Croatia and he was seen as an integral part to their future but a disastrous spell in the Premier League left his reputation in tatters.

Despite Villa spending a significant amount of money on his services, he never made a league start. He played a total of 140 minutes in the Premier League, all of which came from the bench.

His two starts for the club would come in the UEFA Cup against Varteks, where he was replaced at half time, and in the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday where he was substituted shortly after the hour mark.

Unsurprisingly, he was loaned back to Dinamo Zagreb but he would never play another game for Villa and was released from his contract at the end of 2003.