Aston Villa have endured a roller coaster ride over the last two decades. During Villa Park’s peaks and valleys, many players have come and gone. If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably forgotten about half of them and have lost track of what they’re up to these days.

You’re probably aware of the likes of James Milner and Ashley Young defying father time to continue playing in the Premier League, but what about those overlooked Villa players who are still working away from the spotlight?

We did some investigation and discovered six former Villa players that you may not have realized are still active in 2023.

Baros Milano
After winning the Champions League with Liverpool, the Czech striker joined Villa Park in the summer of 2005.

He played two years at Villa Park, notching 14 goals and two assists in 51 appearances before moving on to Lyon, Portsmouth, and Galatasaray.

Baros hung up his boots as a professional after a third stint with boyhood club Banik Ostrava back in 2020.

We’re stretching things a bit here because Baros’ current club FK Vigantice are an amateur side, of which no detailed stats are available, but he remains with them at the age of 41.

Isaiah Osbourne

Born and raised in Birmingham, Osbourne joined Villa’s academy set-up as a youth and progressed to make his Premier League debut all the way back in 2006.

The midfielder went on to make a further 29 appearances for his hometown club but was released in 2011 after a series of underwhelming loans away.

He then went on trial with Leeds before signing for Hibernian, kicking off a real journeyman career in Scotland and England. He’s represented no fewer than 10 clubs over the years but has been settled back in the Midlands for the past four years with non-league outfit Nuneaton Burough.

Curtis Davies

Originally signed on loan from West Midlands rivals West Brom, Davies signed a permanent deal in 2008 and spent three years on Villa’s books – going on to complete the holy trinity by joining Birmingham City.

The Football League veteran has also represented Leicester and Derby over the years but may now be suffering from vertigo after moving as far as Gloucestershire for his current club, Cheltenham Town.

The 38-year-old defender has won Player of the Season awards at Luton, Birmingham, Hull and Derby and might yet do so with the Robins.

Shane Lowry

Not to be confused with the Irish golfer, this Shane Lowry moved across the world from Australia to join Villa’s youth set-up as a nipper back in 2005.

Martin O’Neill handed the defender his debut, an infamous Europa League qualifier elimination to Rapid Vienna in 2009. But he had more loans away than first-team appearances, which amounted to just 20 minutes of action.

Lowry left for Millwall and later played for Leyton Orient and Birmingham City before returning to Oz with Perth Glory in 2016. Nowadays the 34-year-old is turning out for Malaysia Super League outfit Johor Darul Ta’zim.

Brad Guzan

The goalkeeper made 144 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa during an eight-year stint that ran from 2008 and 2016. The following year he went back to the States – and six years on he’s still turning out for Atlanta United.

Guzan, 39, has been with the club for their entire MLS history. He was recently seen trying and failing to stop Lionel Messi scoring.

Nathan Delfouneso

Another Birmingham-born academy graduate, Delfouneso made his breakthrough when Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl was top of the charts – and yet he’s still somehow only 32.

The forward scored twice for Villa but never could quite nail down a place and was frequently loaned away – setting the tone for a very nomadic career that’s included no fewer than four different stints with Blackpool.