12 most expensive Aston Villa transfers

Aston Villa are on the rise under Unai Emerywith NSWE support to the manager in the transfer market. However, the club have also cashed in on a number of Villa Park stars over the years – but who is the club’s record departure?

Here in Football FanCastwe took a look at the most expensive Villa sales in their history, according to Transfermarktwith a detailed review of the first 12.

Here’s a detailed look at the 12 biggest Aston Villa sales…

12

Matt Targett

£15m for Newcastle, 2022

After a season on loan at St James’ Park in 2021/22, Matt Targett sealed a £15m permanent move next summer. The following campaign proved positive for both clubs, with the Magpies qualifying for the Champions League as Unai Emery pulled Villa out of relegation trouble in European football.

Targett has seen limited minutes of late, with his only Premier League appearance in the 2024/25 season ironically coming against Villa in December 2024.

11

Danny Ings

£15m for West Ham, 2023

Danny Ings’ £25m move to Aston Villa didn’t quite work out, but Villa managed to recoup most of that by selling to West Ham in January 2023.

David Moyes’ side paid £12m upfront for the strikerwith another £3m coming to Villa after the Hammers retained their Premier League status that season, which they achieved alongside success in the Conference League.

10

Cameron Archer

£15m for Southampton, 2024

Cameron Archer was sold, bought and sold again by Villa within 12 months, with the club triggering a clause in his contract that sent him to Sheffield United which allowed him to return to the Midlands – only for the club to release him again for a relatively large money, this time to Southampton.

Sold for a combined £33m between the two deals, Archer last had it to join the newly promoted Saints in the summer of 2024 for £15mafter suffering relegation with New Year’s players, Sheffield United, in the 2023/24 season.

9

Ashley Young

£17m for Man Utd, 2011

Ashley Young arguably had his best years as a winger at Aston Villa, spending four years at the club between 2007 and 2011 after joining from Watford.

Young made just under 250 appearances for Villa, and when Manchester United called, Villa they cashed in on their star by returning around £17mwhile making a clean profit.

8

Cameron Archer

£18m to Sheffield Utd, 2023

The first time Aston Villa sold Cameron Archer was in 2023 to newly promoted Sheffield United. Archer had a respectable campaign at Bramall Lane which resulted in Villa activating his buy-out clause in 2024, only to sell him again a few months later.

Blades cashed in £18m to sign the strikerwith their subsequent relegation perhaps playing a role as Villa felt they could get a bit more cash for him, with play-off winners Southampton the latest beneficiary.

7

Carney Chukwuemeka

£20m for Chelsea, 2022

Young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka briefly starred in Aston Villa’s first team after coming through the academy.

Chukwuemeka’s impressive performances caught the eye of Chelsea, who have added the midfielder to their growing list of young signings 2022 for £20m. However, he has already been linked with an exit without making a mark at Stamford Bridge.

6

Stewart Downing

£20m to Liverpool, 2011

Stewart Downing was Martin O’Neill’s first signing of the 2009 transfer window and his time at Aston Villa was short and sweet. After two seasons, Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish took Downing to Anfield and the left winger would spend two years with the Reds.

The Anfield side spent a reported £20 million to bring the England international to Merseyside, although the fee has remained officially undisclosed.

5

James Milner

£26m to Man City, 2010

Premier League icon James Milner initially joined Aston Villa on loan in 2005 as part of Newcastle’s deal to re-sign Nolbert Solan.

Milner continued to impress at Villa Park and was signed permanently three years later in 2008, making a total of 126 appearances before signed for Man City in a £26m deal in 2010after which he continued to build a successful top career.

4

Christian Benteke

£32.5m to Liverpool, 2015

Powerful striker Christian Benteke first made his mark in England with Aston Villa after arriving from Genk in 2012, and the Villans would cash in on the Belgian three years later.

Liverpool called again and paid an eye-watering £32.5 million for the strikeralthough his transfer to Anfield failed and he started again 12 months later.

3

Douglas Luiz

£42.35m to Juventus, 2024

Aston Villa recently sold central midfielder Douglas Luiz to Juventus in 2024 after five successful years at the club.

The transmission was reportedly worth €50m (£42.35m)with Villa soon taking Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barreneche to the Midlands in return. Amadou Onana has since become his successor at Villa Park.

2

Moussa Diaby

£50m for Al-Ittihad, 2024

Another big departure in 2024 that helped balance the FFP books was Moussa Diaby, who moved to Al-Ittihad from Saudi Arabia for around £50m.

The France international spent just one campaign in England, but his displays were enough to see Villa more or less break even from the fee paid by Bayer Leverkusen a year earlier.

1

Jack Grealish

£100m for Man City, 2021

Unsurprisingly, at the top of the list of Aston Villa’s most expensive sales is Jack Grealish, whose £100m move to Manchester City in 2021 was a British record at the time.

The attacking midfielder shone in maroon and blue in the Championship and Premier League and left Villa after making more than 200 appearances for his boyhood club. His contract as the most expensive between British clubs has since been eclipsed by the likes of Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo.