Aston Villa were a very different club with very different ambitions back in 2020.

Still under the stewardship of boyhood fan Dean Smith at the time, the Midland giants needed a Jack Grealish goal to save them from relegation on the final day of the previous Premier League campaign.

That following summer, however, would see Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins arrive.

An 11th place finish would represent a massive improvement on the year before too, and you could argue that some of the foundations for their current success under Unai Emery were laid back in 2020.

Still, Champions League football was a distant pipe dream at the time.

Mega-money, high-profile signings such as Pau Torres, Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby felt fanciful too.

And, still a rung or two behind Europe's established big hitters, Villa found themselves struggling to compete when it came to battling the likes of Juventus for the likes of Weston McKennie.

According to the Birmingham Mail, the then-Schalke enforcer McKennie had informed Aston Villa that summer that he would be willing to consider a move to Birmingham.

The USA international dropped the claret-and-blues like the proverbial hot potato, however, once he picked up the phone to Juventus.

"A club that wins is a great challenge.

(Juventus) are the best in the world, it's perfect for my goals.

I want to win and make the history of the club, as tradition and support is one of the most interesting clubs.

"Even after securing Champions League football for the first time - and even as Juventus' four-year Scudetto drought goes on - it would still be a stretch maybe to suggest that Aston Villa are operating at the same level of pull as the mighty Turin side.

But with HITC having been informed that McKennie is one of a number of players who could be offered up as part of a player-plus-cash swap deal involving Douglas Luiz, a move from the Allianz Stadium to Villa Park feels less like a step down these days and more akin to a step sideways.

HITC understands that Juventus, while reluctant to give up on Luiz, are having to think outside the box with Villa demanding PS50 million.

McKennie may now be offered in exchange, alongside England U21 winger Samuel Iling-Junior, Argentine talent Mathias Soule or teenage defender Dean Huijsen.

Still only 25, McKennie does not possess the same cultured technique as Luiz.

What he would bring to the table, however, is elite-level nous, serious versatility, running power and box-crashing qualities.

McKennie also bounced back from a difficult loan spell at Leeds under Jesse Marsch, and enjoyed arguably his most impressive Juventus campaign in 2023/24.

Juventus want Douglas Luiz this summer "Reading some of the articles here (in Italy) about Weston, there's a big appreciation for the way he's playing this year," fellow American Marsch told CBS Sports in February.

"I think they're talking about his fitness level, they're talking about his productivity around the box and helping set up attacking plays.

"And then also his responsibility and intelligence to help out the team defensively.

It's crazy.

When you watch him in the match, he's in the defensive box.

The next moment, he's in the offensive box.

He's chasing, he's running, he's winning duels, he's taking throw-ins, he's winning duels on corner kicks and free-kicks.

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"He's playing a big part of the success of Juve this year and it's great to see him playing at such a high level.

"The prototype Emery midfielder, as shown for his adoration of John McGinn in particular, is adaptable, high-energy, capable of covering every blade of grass and contributing at either end.

In that sense, Weston McKennie and Aston Villa now feels like a good fit.

"When you're a player with flexibility, it can be a real positive.

(A manager) knows he can rely on Weston to use him wherever," adds Marsch, now the head coach of the Canada national team.

"Now, he's played mostly the right(sided number) eight.

But when they play their 3-5-2 or 5-3-2, Weston plays like an eight/ten.

He likes to be able to roam, to find the game, to understand tactical responsibility but to use his athleticism.

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