Reading FC must still be shocked at what happened after Aston Villa transfer | OneFootball

Aaron Tshibola's career stagnated after his Villa Park move

The summer of 2016 saw Aston Villa face the prospect of a Championship campaign for the first time since 1988.

After years of stagnation in the Premier League, the West Midlands outfit were buoyed by Dr Tony Xia's £76.2m takeover, as well as the subsequent appointment of Roberto Di Matteo in the Villa Park dugout.

After the most drab of campaigns which saw the Villans accumulate a measly 17 points, it was clear that the Italian and his assistant, Steve Clarke, had to make several changes within the squad in order to challenge for an immediate Premier League return.

However, several deals from a scattergun transfer window would fail to have the desired impact, with the signing of Reading's Aaron Tshibola one of those.

Aaron Tshibola came to Aston Villa with high hopes

The aforementioned Clarke in particular will have been all-too aware of Tshibola's high potential, with the midfielder continuing to progress at the Select Car Leasing Stadium throughout the Scot's time as manager.

After being given his Royals bow against Nottingham Forest under Nigel Adkins, the youngster was sent to Hartlepool United on loan, having a key impact on the club's eventual survival in League Two with four assists in 23 games.

And, despite making just 16 appearances for the Berkshire outfit in the 2015/16 season as a result of two long-term injury layoffs, the hope was that Tshibola would be the beating heart of a new-look midfield in B6, which saw the club invest a £5m fee for his services in July 2016, which saw him sign a four-year contract in the process.

Aaron Tshibola's career stagnated after Villa Park move

As previously mentioned, the one-time England U18 international made the move to the West Midlands with high hopes on his shoulders, which were reflected in Di Matteo's initial summary after capturing his signature.

"He's a highly-rated and well respected young player who will provide us with plenty of energy, courage and determination in the middle of the park," the Italian stated.

The midfielder made his debut for the club in a 20-minute cameo against Sheffield Wednesday, before featuring in just four more outings under Di Matteo, despite scoring his only goal for Villa against Newcastle United in the meantime.

“It was incredible. Coming from where I had come from and then scoring at Villa Park as a young boy, aged just 21," Tshibola told the Athletic about his 88th-minute equaliser in a 2019 interview.

However, after playing the full 90 minutes in Steve Bruce's first game in charge against Wolves, the DR Congo international would go on to make seven further appearances across the remainder of the season, before being loaned out to MK Dons and enjoying two consecutive spells in the SPFL with Kilmarnock.

“I felt like I was being punished, as if I had done something very bad to someone. Why am I being so mistreated? I never disrespected anyone at Aston Villa so why are they doing this? What had I done that was so wrong?," Tshibola said regarding his distinct lack of minutes in the side.

After the club returned to the Premier League after their play-off success in 2019, Tshibola found himself way down the pecking order in comparison to the likes of Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Conor Hourihane, and was subsequently sold to Belgian outfit Waasland-Beveren for an undisclosed fee.

Since then, the midfielder has been well-travelled across the continent with spells at Portuguese side Aves, which ended prematurely due to financial difficulties, a third spell at Kilmarnock, before featuring for Gençlerbirliği, AEL Limassol and most recently, UAE Pro League outfit, FC Hatta.