Bursting onto the Ligue 1 scene with OGC Nice, it didn’t take long for Premier League clubs to take notice of Jordan Amavi.
Aston Villa were the ones to make the first move for the left-back, spending around €12m in 2015 for the then 21-year-old, and there was a lot of hope he could become a mainstay for the future.
Unfortunately, a bad knee injury scuppered any sort of progression he might have had when he damaged his cruciate ligament with France’s U21s, and his Villa Park career took a downturn from there onwards.
Marseille came to his rescue after Villa were relegated, first signing him on loan for the 2017-18 season followed by a £9m transfer the next summer, and he has been there ever since.
An important part of André Villas-Boas’ plans when fit, the 26-year-old spoke to France Football this week, where he was asked about his move to Aston Villa.
“Sometimes, it was a bit much, I’ll admit (laughs). I also loved that mentality of never giving up. My first game was against Leicester, the year they won the title. We were 2-0 up but lost 3-2 in extra time. The scenario was so crazy that I realised it’s a really unique 
football country. Despite the bad results, I loved my experience that. Even life is nice, despite the lack of sun. My dad didn’t like that. He told me ‘I’ll never come back’ (laughs)”.
Taking into account the injury, Amavi only made 48 appearances in two years with Aston Villa, picking up four assists along the way.
