The great Ronaldo once said Luc Nilis at PSV was his favourite ever strike partner, so when Aston Villa signed him from the Dutch club in 2000, it’s fair to say their supporters had reason to feel excited.
A veteran striker in his mid-30s with a reputation for scoring goals for fun in mainland Europe was coming to the end of his contract and needed a new challenge.
He had just plundered in a hatful of goals as his club won the league at a canter and chose to move to England and take the last-chance opportunity to prove himself in the Premier League.
But this is not the story of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his move to Manchester United, it’s the story of Luc Nilis, the Belgian behemoth who bestrode the Benelux leagues for more than a decade before joining John Gregory’s Aston Villa as a 33-year-old in the summer of 2000.
Nilis had just played a starring role in PSV’s Eredivisie triumph with 19 goals, and he arrived at Villa Park with grand ambitions, stating that he wanted to help his new club qualify for the Champions League at the first time of asking.
Such aspirations may seem fanciful now, but Gregory had just led Villa to a second successive sixth-place finish, with only two losses in the final 21 games of the season and an FA Cup final appearance against Chelsea thrown in for good measure.
For an experienced head and proven goalscorer seeking a new challenge in a major league, Villa were an attractive proposition. The deal to take him to the Midlands had been wrapped up in March. Everything was looking good.
But first, back to the start.
Nicknamed ‘Lucky Luc’ for his ability to pop up in the right places at the right time, Nilis began his senior career in 1984 at Winterslag – now Genk – where he made a big impact before
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