Aston Villa flop who signed for Dean Smith couldn’t stop scoring after season of his career BirminghamLive brings you the latest Aston Villa news as
Aston Villa flop who signed for Dean Smith couldn’t stop scoring after season of his career
BirminghamLive brings you the latest Aston Villa news as former striker Borja Baston hits top form for Real Oviedo
Borja Baston of Real Oviedo (Image: Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano
Former Aston Villa striker Borja Baston has been tearing it up in Spain’s second division after going 12 months without a goal before he returned to his homeland three years ago.
Baston joined Villa on loan in January 2020 as Dean Smith searched for attacking reinforcements following the injury which the club’s then-record signing Wesley sustained on New Year’s Day at Burnley. Villa pushed to sign Olivier Giroud – but had to settle for Ally Mbwana Samatta instead.
On deadline day of that window, Villa added Baston to their squad after he left Swansea City on a free transfer with his contract set to expire at the end of the 2019/20 season. He had scored six times for the Swans in the Championship that year, which was one less than his total tally for the club since joining in a £15.5 million deal from Atletico Madrid in 2016.
Baston made his first appearence for Villa 16 days after joining the club, and it came in the dramatic 3-2 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. He was on the pitch for seven minutes after replacing Samatta, and Son Heung-min managed to win the game for Spurs – who twice came from behind to snatch victory at the death – as he ran in on goal following a mistake by Bjorn Engels.
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The Spaniard then came off the bench in Villa’s next Premier League game, which was a 2-0 defeat at Southampton. That was his final appearence for the club as he was left out of Smith’s matchday squad for nine of the club’s remaining 11 games of the season.
Villa managed to beat the drop despite being seven points away from safety with only four games left to play, and the following summer brought about something of an overhaul of players. Samatta was allowed to leave the club after Baston had already packed his bags following the end of his loan move.
He was a free agent and opted to return to Spain to play his football there. He joined left Leganes for the 2020/21 season and scored five goals in 35 games for the La Liga 2 club. Baston’s next move, to Real Oviedo, has sparked a resurgence in form as he enjoyed his best scoring season to date in 2021/22.
Since the start of the season, Baston has netted 30 goals, which is a remarkable figure for a striker who hadn’t scored more than six goals in a season since 2015/16. Oviedo finished the 2022/23 campaign in eighth position.