Top 5 Aston Villa Players of the 21st Century (Compiled by guest writer Callum Mcbain)

Top 5 Best Players to Play for Aston Villa in the 21^st Century

The glory days are now over for Aston Villa as fans watch their club flirt with relegation and the Championship. However, for the majority of the 21^st century, Villa have been a pretty consistent side and they’ve had a few class players along the way. Here is our compilation of the top five best players to have worn the shirt for Villa in the 21^st century so far.

5 - Ashley Young 2007-2011 190 Games 38 Goals

In January 2007, Ashley Young joined Aston Villa and impressed almost immediately. Though he may be regarded as a defensive player now, back in the day he was using his abilities on the wing and produced a solid return of 38 goals in 190 games. In doing this he earnt his first England cap and finally got a big-money move to Manchester United where he played the bulk of his career at.

4 – James Milner 2005-2006(Loan) & 2008-2011 126 Games 22 Goals

Though he may be a multiple Premier League winner and now a Champions League winner, let’s not forgot how good James Milner was at Villa. He was a player that gave everything for the club and continues to do today for Liverpool. After getting 126 appearances for the Villians he signed for Manchester City and won various trophies, earning a number of England caps along the way. 

3 – Christian Benteke 2012-2015 101 Games 49 Goals

Even though he struggles to get in the Crystal Place first 11 today, there’s no denying that Benteke was an absolute goal-scoring machine for Aston Villa. During his stay, he carried the squad with his goals. 42 goals in 89 premier league games is very impressive for a relegation battling side’s number 9. He earnt a big-money move to Liverpool and things really went downhill for him there. You can’t deny that his goals aren’t still missed by Villa and selling him was one of their biggest mistakes of this century. 

2 - Jack Grealish 2011-Present day 180 Games 24 Goals (and counting!)

We know he’s young and may not have even hit his peak yet, its unquestionable that he is too good for Aston Villa and it’s a matter of time before he gets a huge money move away to a team that should be competing in the Champions League. The creativity he brings lights up the Villa side and he has proven that he possesses the ability to score worldies. Though he has a few England caps to his name, there are talks that he should be in the first 11 in the big national competitions. What puts him high up is his loyalty as well. Being a local lad and now club captain, he has shown his allegiance to Villa.

1 – Martin Laursen 2004-2009 91 Appearances 11 Goals

During his five years stay at the club, Martin Laursen showed Villa fans that he was the complete package. The ability he had in the air was second to none and solidified the Villa defense spectacularly. Players struggled to get past him, and they also struggled to keep him out. He proved to be a huge goal threat with his aerial presence, making him a top-quality asset on both ends of the pitch. A total of 11 goals in all completions over a five year period is a decent tally for a centre back.

Thank you, Callum, for the list, perhaps overlooked loyal serviceman Gabby Agbonlahor and the prolific South American striker Juan Pablo Angel but will be mentioned at least by myself ;)