5 forgotten Aston Villa academy graduates who became cult heroes elsewhere
Some proper Premier League stalwarts have developed their skills in Aston Villa’s academy, from Gareth Barry and Gary Cahill back in the day to the likes of Jack Grealish and Jacob Ramsey in more recent years.
But what about those that dropped off the mainstream radar after leaving Aston Villa? There are plenty of examples of footballers who have enjoyed more than decent careers away from the Premier League spotlight.
We’ve identified five Villa youth products who went on to become cult heroes at other clubs.
Keinan Davis
“That was probably the best feeling I’ve ever had in football,” the forward told BBC Sport, reminiscing on his first goal for Udinese.
“In football, you get your respect on the field with your team-mates and not being able to do it was a bit difficult. But it was all worth it to score that goal – 100%.”
It wasn’t just any goal. Davis’ first in Serie A came after an arduous and injury-stricken debut season at the Stadio Friuli that restricted him to a peripheral role in Udinese’s battle against the drop.
But he delivered big time when it mattered, notching a 76th-minute winner at Frosinone that relegated the hosts and kept the Bianconeri up.
He’s only scored a further two goals this season, but he’s featured more prominently in a squad that features fellow Premier League old boys Christian Kabasele, Alexis Sanchez and Florian Thauvin.
Even if he does nothing else for Udinese, that one goal ensures his place in the club’s folklore.
Andreas Weimann
The Austrian attacker left Rapid Vienna as a 15-year-old to continue his development in Villa’s youth ranks back in 2017.
He went on to make his debut on the opening day of the 2010-11 season and ended up notching over a hundred Premier League appearances for Villa before finding his footing in the second tier.
Weimann has represented Watford, Derby, Wolves, West Brom and – currently – Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, but it was at Bristol City where he enjoyed his best years, notching 205 Championship appearances for the Robins over five and a half seasons.
Barry Bannan
From one proper Football League stalwart to another, Bannan has made over 400 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday and is approaching testimonial territory after 10 seasons at Hillsborough.
Under Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership, it’s been a largely tumultuous and often miserable time to be an Owls fan but the Scottish playmaker has provided countless moments of inspiration and pure joy in amongst that.
Still going at the age of 35, Bannan captained Wednesday back to the Championship and was nothing short of talismanic in their famous 5-1 play-off semi-final comeback win against Peterborough in 2022-23.
And he continues to roll back the years with a starring role in this season’s unlikely play-off push.
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Jonathan Hogg
Hogg only made a handful of appearances for Aston Villa after he broke through as a youngster at the turn of the 2010s, but he’s found himself a settled home at Huddersfield Town.
Hogg is now into his 12th season with the Terriers, with whom he’s had his fair share of ups and downs – from promotion to the Premier League in 2017 to relegation to League One last year. The exceptionally committed defensive midfielder loves the club.
“I’ve had offers, but I don’t think I could ever leave. This is what I am all about,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post in 2023.
“I know the club inside and out and love the place, the town and fans and the club is just made for me.”
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Gary Gardner
Having spent 14 years on Aston Villa’s books, from youth-teamer to squad filler to perennial loanee, Gardner probably never envisaged becoming a fan favourite at St. Andrew’s.
“I mean I’m not going to shout and scream that for Villa but we’ve grew up as Blues fans,” Gardner told Birmingham’s official YouTube channel.
“That’s the fact, that, it’s not as if it’s not true, it is true, that’s the fact, but we’re a respectable family and Villa have been good to me over the years…”
After a successful loan, the midfielder made the permanent switch to Villa’s arch-rivals as part of the controversial deal that saw Jota move in the other direction back in 2019.
He spent five years with the club, notched over a hundred appearances in the Championship, and left after last year’s relegation to League One.
Like his older brother Craig, Gardner was never the most glamorous of footballers, but his willingness to cross the Second City divide went appreciated by their supporters, who gave him his own chant: “Gary Gardner is a Blue, is a Blue, is a Blue, Gary Gardner is a Blue, he hates Villa.”