Summary Aston Villa missed out on signing Giovanni Reyna, who had shown impressive attacking skills and a high ranking among his peers in various metrics. Despite Morgan Rogers' strong performances in the Championship, Reyna would have been a better signing for Villa based on his potential and statistics. Villa should have made a more solid effort to secure Reyna on a permanent deal, considering his value and the potential impact he could have had on the team.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery will be pleased with the transfer business he has conducted during the previous few weeks.

The Spaniard signed Lino Sousa, Morgan Rogers, Joe Gauci and Kosta Nedeljkovic during the winter window, and it appears as though he is building ahead for the future.

There were a couple of players who did slip through the net that may have bolstered the Villa squad, however, and one notable target has joined a fellow Premier League side…

Aston Villa missed out on a few transfer targets

While there were several forwards linked with a move to the Midlands, it was Giovanni Reyna who emerged as a potential signing during the latter stages of the window.

According to Football Transfers, Villa were one of the clubs who were showing interest in a late move for the American, joining the likes of Marseille, Sevilla, and Real Sociedad who were looking to sign him.

The 21-year-old ended up joining Nottingham Forest on loan from Borussia Dortmund and this could turn out to be a big mistake, especially if he manages to demonstrate his extraordinary talents in the Premier League between now and May, by Villa.

Gio Reyna would have been a better signing than Morgan Rogers

The former Middlesbrough talent had impressed during the first half of the Championship season, scoring twice and registering six assists and it was clear his performances had impressed Emery.

Reyna failed to score or assist in any of his 14 appearances for Dortmund this term, yet he started only two matches and was working his way back from an injury.

When comparing the pair to their positional peers, however, it is clear there is one who is an immediate standout.

Over the previous 365 days in the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions, Reyna is currently ranked in the top 1% for non-penalty goals (0.45), assists (0.3), shot-creating actions (7.1) and touches in the attacking penalty area (6.04) per 90.

He also ranked in the top 5% for successful take-ons per 90 (1.81) and the top 8% for progressive carries per 90 (2.72) as he demonstrated his attacking skills across a variety of metrics for the German side.

Rogers on the other hand, failed to rank in the top 20% of his peers in the Men's Next 14 competitions for all of these metrics bar touches in the opposition penalty area, where he ranked in the top 16% (4.99 per 90) and it clearly shows who would have been the better signing for Villa.

Reyna is currently valued at €22.6m (£19m) according to Football Transfers and while he has only joined Forest on loan, Villa should perhaps have made a more concrete effort to sign him, especially on a permanent deal.

Lucien Favre, his former boss at Dortmund, previously claimed that the youngster had “something special” about him and while this season has been tough, a fresh start in England may allow him to get back to his best.

If he does, Emery will surely rue not signing him, as there is no doubt that when both are at their peak, Reyna is better than Rogers and the remaining few months of the season may prove that notion and show that Villa endured a late howler in the transfer window.