Have Aston Villa missed a trick not signing Tom Bayliss for just £2 million?

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Championship outfit Preston North End have confirmed on their official website that midfielder Tom Bayliss has joined the club from Coventry City.

According to the Sun, Aston Villa were keen on Bayliss’ signature last month, but he has moved into the second tier, with Lancashire Live reporting a fee of £2 million.

Bayliss told Preston’s website: “The sheer size of the stadium as we pulled on to the car park, it’s massive, it’s a massive club and I just can’t wait to show what I can do now.

“The gaffer said to me that we’ve got a young, hungry group here with a few experienced lads in there as well so it’s a really good mix and hopefully I can learn off the older pros and develop my game even more.”

Villa have had an outstanding window, recruiting impressive players across the pitch, but as a player they’ve previously been linked with joins a club in the league below for a very affordable sum, where are they?

This one may be a rare misstep from Dean Smith. Young English EFL players have exploded in value after proving themselves lower down and it’s likely that Bayliss’ value is only going to go up from £2 million.

Even if they’d bought Bayliss and then loaned him into the Championship, they’d have a hugely talented player on his hands, who looks all set to be a Premier League player one day.

In a window where Villa have splashed the cash, gambling £2 million on Bayliss making good on his vast talent would have been a very shrewd investment indeed.