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“They qualified for [the] top eight in the Champions League, so it tells you that it's a strong team we are going to face.”

Admittedly, Villa’s incomings were aided by their outgoings as they looked to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.

While the Villans snubbed an offer from Arsenal for Ollie Watkins, they did decide to cash in on Jhon Duran after Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr offered them £64m.

Scoring 12 goals from 29 games, 10 came from 27 outings in the Premier League and Champions League despite the presence of Watkins limiting him to just five starts.

Meanwhile, his move to the Saudi Pro League came just a month after Liverpool star Luis Diaz had praised his compatriot for ‘shining in a super spectacular league’ and backed him to become the ‘best striker’.

"From the first day that I met him, that I dealt with him and that I saw him play, I already knew the conditions and qualities that he had,” he told ESPN.

Introduced in the 79th minute with Villa trailing 3-1, his three-minute brace ultimately earned his side an unlikely draw against the Reds.

Yet Villa arguably have Liverpool to thank and curse for the sale of the Colombian, given the fact that Al-Nassr reportedly only turned to the 21-year-old after reportedly missing out on Darwin Nunez.

Fabrizio Romano reported last week that Al-Nassr made two bids for the Uruguayan in January, with the highest totalling €75m, and that a financial agreement was very close between all parties involved, before the Reds ultimately pulled the plug.

Such a decision was reportedly made because Liverpool had no replacement, had no intention to overpay and felt Nunez could still play a decisive role in the second half of the campaign as they go in pursuit of Premier League and Champions League glory.

It would be curious as to whether such a rebuttal came before or after the striker’s match-winning brace off the bench against Brentford last month.

Scoring only six times this season, you have to go back to the Reds’ Anfield win over Aston Villa back in early-November - 101 days and 23 Liverpool matches ago - for the last time Nunez scored in the Premier League as a starter.

While his brace against the Bees came following a public show of faith from Slot, he has not scored since.

And should Saudi come calling again for Nunez, the £64m fee obtained for Duran will surely help them set their own asking-price given their tendency to follow market values and patterns.

But while they ultimately decided to keep their powder dry in January, it was a different story at Villa Park.

Had Nunez departed mid-season for Saudi Arabia, Al-Nassr would not have signed Duran instead, with the knock-on then affecting Villa’s incoming January business.

They have been inconsistent in recent weeks regardless, with it now over a month since they last won a Premier League game.

And in their last three matches, they have been held 1-1 at Villa Park by struggling West Ham United and Ipswich Town, and lost 2-0 away at fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ninth in the Premier League, Villa have only lost once at home in the Premier League this season.
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