10 Players Who Probably Regret Leaving Aston Villa

Dalian Atkinson had already tasted life on the continent with Real Sociedad so when he began to enjoy success with Aston Villa, it seemed likely that he would remain at the club for the long term.

His partnership with Dean Saunders had been a fruitful one but Saunders was sold to Galatasaray in July 1995 and a month later, Atkinson would follow suit and join Fenerbahce.

Atkinson impressed during the early stages of his time in Istanbul but he failed to fully adapt to life in the country and he would eventually be loaned out to FC Metz in France.

Despite being just 28, Atkinson's professional career began to run down from this moment and he never replicated the impact that he had previously made at Villa.

After ending the 1996-97 season on loan at Manchester City in Division One, he would move to Saudi Arabia and never play another game in English football before retiring at the age of 33. After playing regularly in La Liga and holding down a first-team place at Villa, it was a sorry end to what had been a promising career.