Aston Villa supporters could be forgiven for feeling angry and confused. Barely two months after one of the greatest nights in their history, they have lost two of their most important players and more are expected to follow.
Under Unai Emery, the club have finished seventh, fourth, sixth and fourth in the Premier League. They have qualified for the Champions League twice, won the Europa League and will have a chance to add the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in Salzburg on Wednesday.
Yet because of UEFA’s maddening financial rules that appear designed to help revenue-generating monsters like Chelsea and Manchester United and punish ambitious rivals like Villa, Emery finds himself without Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers heading into the new season, after they joined United and Chelsea respectively for a combined £152million.
Left back Lucas Digne is expected to join PSG and centre back Ezri Konsa – another pillar of Emery’s best teams – is a target for Arsenal, with Liverpool also monitoring the situation.
There are positives, however. Pound for pound, Emery is perhaps the best coach in the league and he is still at Villa. Champions League football will boost the balance sheet and plans to take the capacity of Villa Park to 50,000 are moving ahead. That should also deliver improved revenue and a bigger transfer warchest.
Yet football is always about the here and now and Daily Mail Sport looks at where Villa stand…
Under Unai Emery, Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League twice, won the Europa League and will have a chance to add the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg on Wednesday
It’s been a tough transfer window for Villa fans, with Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans (pictured) leaving the club for a combined £152million
Could there be more outgoings?
| Weds | PSG (n, Super Cup) |
| Aug 23 | Brighton (a, PL) |
| Aug 31 | Arsenal (h, PL) |
| Sep 5 | Hull (a, PL) |
| Sep 12 | N Forest (h, PL) |
| Sep 19 | Tottenham (a, PL) |
The big one to watch after Digne is Konsa. At 28, the England defender is probably at the peak of his market value and heading into the summer he was one of three principal targets for Arsenal, along with Bruno Guimaraes and Vinicius Junior.
Guimaraes is due to sign for £75million this week and while Vinicius is set to stay at Real Madrid, Arsenal have not given up hope of landing Konsa, who is needed while they handle injuries to William Saliba, Jurrien Timber and Ben White.
The champions will have to do better than the original offer, though, which was believed to be little more than half of Villa’s £60million valuation. That did not go down well with co-owner Nassef Sawiris, but it is thought the Villa squad are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of Konsa departing.
There continues to be interest in Ollie Watkins, particularly from clubs in the Turkish top flight and the Saudi Pro League, though with so many experienced players already out of the door, it would be brave to let Watkins follow them. Though he turns 31 in December, Watkins has been Villa’s top scorer in every season since he joined the club in 2020, and is their leading all-time Premier League marksman.
It is a different matter with Tammy Abraham – another curious Villa transfer. Emery and his lieutenants pushed hard to sign Abraham for £18.2million from Besiktas in January yet it is thought that after only four starts Villa are prepared to let him go again, ideally on a permanent basis.
Earlier in the window, Villa were open to offers for Ross Barkley but with Tielemans leaving and Amadou Onana recovering from ACL damage, the former England man will not be placed on the market unless Villa can strengthen in midfield.
Arsenal are pushing to make Ezri Konsa (centre) the next big exit at Villa this summer
Tammy Abraham’s £18.2million January move has not panned out and he could leave this summer
And what about incomings?
This is where it becomes tricky. Villa’s £54million club-record signing Johan Manzambi is not fit due to the knee injury he sustained playing for Switzerland at the World Cup.
Joao Gomes has made a promising start after joining for £38million from Wolves but more strength is needed in midfield, with Joao Palhinha still a target, though Bayern Munich would prefer to sell the Portugal international permanently.
Digne’s impending departure means another left back is needed, and Matteo Ruggeri could join from Atletico Madrid. The clubs have all but agreed terms on a deal worth about £15million for the Italian.
Alejandro Garnacho has joined on loan from Chelsea while Marseille winger Igor Paixao is another on Emery’s radar. Plenty of wingers have been observed this summer – from Ibrahim Mbaye to Harvey Barnes and Crysencio Summerville (who has since joined Al Hilal for £68million) – but Villa’s strong relationship with Chelsea helped get the Garnacho move over the line. Keep an eye on that for later in the window.
Then there is the striker. Ever since Emery joined the club, it feels like Villa have been looking for a forward to complement Watkins and ultimately succeed him. Jhon Duran had the talent to do so, but not the temperament. Donyell Malen did reasonably well when he played and his departure to Roma last January felt more of a financial move than a football one, given the constant pressure from UEFA rules. Quite simply, Abraham Part 2 simply has not worked.
Could Nicolas Jackson be the next one? At the moment, Villa are playing down interest in the Senegal forward. But Emery has always admired him since their days together at Villarreal and as highlighted, Villa and Chelsea have a good relationship.
But there’s a hitch. UEFA rules state that permanent transfers between the same clubs within a 45-day period will be deemed ‘swaps’, which affects how profits can be recorded on balance sheets and stops any financial chicanery between teams.
The final day of the window is 41 days after Chelsea announced they had signed Rogers. Would that stop Villa signing Jackson? In such a frantic window, nothing can be ruled out – especially as players often sign for clubs some days before the official announcement.
Club-record signing Johan Manzambi is still recovering from the injury he suffered playing for Switzerland at the World Cup
Villa have all-but agreed a £15million deal with Atletico Madrid for Italian left back Matteo Ruggeri (left)
Emery’s admiration for Nicolas Jackson dates back to their days together at Villarreal
How are Villa shaping up for the season?
Given the departure of Rogers, Villa need the Manzambi transfer to work and as things stand, the 20-year-old is unlikely to be fit for their Premier League opener at Brighton on August 23, and the early part of the season. Supporters are understandably alarmed at this summer’s exodus while the squad are keen to see more high-level players join.
There is also a feeling, though, that Villa needed a refresh. The majority of last season’s squad had been at Villa throughout Emery’s four-year tenure and Villa knew they would have to sell this summer. Perhaps Emery would have preferred not to lose both Tielemans and Digne, who were key figures in the dressing room, but he will rarely stand in the way of a player who wishes to leave.
Roberto Olabe replaced Monchi as Villa’s transfer chief last September and this is his first summer window. Softly spoken and methodical, he is a much calmer figure than his predecessor and is a good counterbalance to the more instinctive Emery and director of football Damian Vidagany.
Villa started last season dreadfully, failing to score in any competition until September 16 and waiting until September 25 for their first win. It did not stop Emery’s men recording one of their best seasons in modern times, turning that first win into a run of 12 in 13 league matches as they roared back to finish fourth.
So a slow start is no reason to panic – but with so many changes to their team, Villa fans will struggle to stay calm if August goes awry.
