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Rodrigo Bentancur could have been lining up against Tottenham at Villa Park on Saturday evening had things panned out rather differently in January. Now a Spurs player after managing director of football Fabio Paratici concluded a deal with Juventus on transfer deadline day, the Uruguayan international did appear to be heading to Aston Villa only a few days earlier.

Following Steven Gerrard's appointment in the Villa hotseat in November to replace Dean Smith, the former England international was keen to immediately stamp his mark on his new side in January. Making a statement signing at the beginning of the month with Philippe Coutinho joining on loan from Barcelona, Villa followed up the addition of the Brazilian by bringing in Lucas Digne and Calum Chambers on permanent deals to help strengthen their backline.

Gerrard also wanted to bring a defensively-minded midfielder to the Midlands to boost his options and also offer good competition for Douglas Luiz. Amid links with Brighton & Hove Albion's Yves Bissouma before later cooling their interest in the highly-rated midfielder, it did appear that Bentancur would be the player coming through the door if Villa could strike a deal with Juventus.

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A deal